ASTLEY & Tyldesley Miners' Welfare CTA Direct were in action at Bury, competing in the Northern Cycle Speedway Cup Finals.

Spearheaded by Polish stars, Tomasz Wlodarczyk and Przemek Binkowski, A & T fancied their chances of victory in the one-off match that featured the six Northern League teams.

However the promoting Bury club chose to change the race formula. This led to A & T having more unfavourable outside starts and less favourable inside starts than the other teams.

Despite this, A & T started off with purpose and the match quickly developed into a three horse race, between the home Bury team, the holders Tameside, and A & T.

Frank Finnigan and Garry Pearce both recorded race wins, as A & T cut Tameside's advantage to 3 points. Heat 27 decided the match, as the fast starting Tomasz Wlodarczyk was bounced out on the first corner, and Tameside's Steven Ward was content to keep A & T's Pole at the back to secure a Tameside victory.

Przemek Binkowski was in magnificent form for A & T, dropping just one point from five races, with Tomasz Wlodarczyk having dropped just one point up to his final race. Both Pearce and F. Finnigan battled hard for their points.

The ridiculous allocation of start positions that favoured Tameside over A & T, undoubtedly played a major part in the final outcome of such a closely balanced contest.

Earlier in the day, Astley & Tyldesley took on Sheffield in the Northern Junior Cup Final. A & T's youngsters battled gamely and kept themselves in contention throughout the match, giving a good account of themselves, with captain Warren Mee leading the way with two race wins. The result was never in doubt after the opening blitz from Sheffield.

Great news for Astley & Tyldesley this week is the signing, on full transfers, of Chris Finnigan and Frank Finnigan, from British Premier League club Stoke.