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AUSTRALIA AND POLAND THROUGH
Thursday 19th July 2007

Finalist: Australia's Leigh Adams
  Finalist: Australia's Leigh Adams
 
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Australia and Poland will contest the 2007 World Cup final alongside Great Britain and Denmark on Saturday after coming through the semi-final race off in Leszno.

After 25 heats of action, Australia eventually edged the home side by 53 points to 52, with Sweden a further 12 points behind and Russia's seven-point haul telling its own story.

Australia always seemed bound to progress; however, Poland's riders had to fight their way back into contention after a slow start.

After 10 heats Australia had 22 points, Sweden 18 and Poland trailed in third place with 15.

However, successive heat wins in 11 and 12 enabled Poland to make inroads, with Tomasz Gollob subsequently made it three in a row to tie Sweden.

With Jason Crump taking heat 14, Damian Balinkski's second place ahead of Sweden's Jonas Davidsson then moved Poland into the all-important qualifying position.

Victory for Jaroslaw Hampel then took a resurgent Poland to within one point of Australia, with a one-two for Leigh Adams and Balinski in heat 16 allowing both countries to extend their lead over Sweden.

And the remaining heats continued in much the same vein, with Hampel taking heat 17 ahead of the third-placed Rory Schlein to finally take Poland level on points.

But successive wins for Crump and Ryan Sullivan allowed Australia to regain a two-point lead over the next two heats.

Gollob won heat 20, with Chris Holder's third place levelling the scores once more. Krystof Kasprzak's subsequent victory over Schlein then edged Poland into a one-point lead.

However, Crump's victory over Gollob in heat 22 again tied the scores, before Sullivan's heat 23 win over third-placed Balinski placed Australia two points ahead.

The game of nip-and-tuck continued, with Hampel's first place and Holder's third pulling Poland back level and setting up the prospect of a morale-boosting win on home ground.

But it was instead Australia who prevailed, with Adams leading home Grzegorz Walasek.



  
NIGEL PEARSON NIGEL PEARSON
The No. 1 man on speedway
KELVIN TATUM KELVIN TATUM
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