COVENTRY put up a competitive performance before going down 51-39 to title favourites Mildenhall at West Row on Saturday.
The Fen Tigers went to the top of the National League table as a result, but of their ten home matches in all competitions this season only Birmingham ran them closer than the Europress Bees.
Coventry finished the meeting particularly strongly, with their top two of Connor Mountain and Jon Armstrong collecting 5-1 wins in both Heats 13 and 15.
The former saw home man Danny Ayres disqualified for bringing down Mountain, with the Bees duo getting the better of Ryan Kinsley in the re-run, whilst Heat 15 saw Mountain and Armstrong race clear of Josh Bailey and Drew Kemp.
Mountain’s return to his former track had started in inauspicious fashion as he was disqualified from Heat One after a tangle with Kinsley.
But Luke Harris rode a fine race to win the re-run, Kemp having been penalised for touching the tapes, whilst Mountain dropped just one point from his remaining four rides.
The Fen Tigers moved into an early six point lead largely thanks to a 5-1 from their strong middle-order pairing of Bailey and Danny Halsey in Heat Three and Armstrong was on the receiving end of a maximum from Kemp and Kinsley in Heat Six.
Bees grabbed a couple of points back when Ayres tumbled in Heat Seven when chasing Danny Phillips but the lead went up to double figures in the next race with Kemp working his way to the front with partner Sam Bebee.
Another Bailey/Halsey 5-1 over Armstrong in Heat Nine all but guaranteed another win for the Fen Tigers, but Bees ensured no major damage in the final third of the meeting.
Phillips and Luke Ruddick managed to share Heat Ten by squeezing out Kinsley and although Mountain lost out to Ayres in Heat 11, he did get the better of Matt Marson in the early stages.
Bailey passed Ruddick in Heat 12 for a Mildenhall 4-2, a result matched in Heat 14, despite the attempts of Phillips to get to Halsey.
However, the 5-1s in Bees’ favour from Mountain and Armstrong in Heats 13 and 15 ensured a respectable result.
