Somerset Rebels were knocked out of the Premier League KO Cup after losing the tie on aggregate.

THE Somerset Dickies Rebels participation in this year’s Premier League KO Cup came to an end with a 53-37 defeat at Newcastle, losing the tie on aggregate 97-83.

The first half of the second leg saw the Rebels open up with a 5-1 heat win courtesy of Anders Mellgren and Alex Davies, this after Travis McGowan was excluded for touching the tapes.

By the halfway stage of the match, the Rebels were still holding on to the narrow two point advantage gained at Friday’s first leg, but then Newcastle ‘upped the ante’ and made sure of their progress through to the semi-finals, where they will meet the Glasgow Tigers, with two heats to spare.

Somerset scorers: Travis McGowan 7+1, Anders Mellgren 4+1, Tyson Nelson (guest replacement for Joe Haines) 5, Sam Masters 8, Cory Gathercole 4+1, Alex Davies 9+2, James Holder 0.

In the first leg at the Oak Tree Arena, the Rebels managed to win by two points (46-44) with Sam Masters top scoring with 12+1. Cory Gathercole returned 10+1, followed by Alex Davies (8+1), James Holder (8) and Travis McGowan (7).

? The Rebels have qualified for the prestigious Premier League Fours Championship being held at Leicester’s Beaumont Park Stadium on August 7.

The qualifying clubs, in order of averages are: Redcar, Sheffield, Workington, Edinburgh, Ipswich, Somerset and Glasgow.

The draw for the event will see the eight clubs split into two groups of four, with the semi-final groups run over eight heats apiece. The top two from each group will then contest the 12-heat final.

? The Rebels will have a distinguished guest for their home match against Redcar tomorrow (Fri), with one of the sport’s all-time greats, Ivan Mauger being in attendance.

Mauger won the World Speedway Championship on six occasions during the 1960s and 70s, a feat that has only been equalled in more recent times by Swede Tony Rickardsson.

New Zealander Mauger was also a three-time winner of the World Longtrack Championship and when his FIM Gold medals for victories in World Team and Pairs Championships are taken in consideration, it makes Mauger one of the most decorated speedway rider in the sport’s history.

? It was a case of good news, bad news for the Somerset Riders Equipment Fund (SREF) last week.

The good news came in the form of a donation the SREF committee were able to make to the club of �900 towards to cost of tyres for the team. The presentation was made prior to the Rebels KO Cup tie against Newcastle.

Unfortunately though, the coach SREF had hoped to run to Leicester for the Premier League Fours Championship on August 7 has had to be cancelled after a number of fans pulled out of the trip due to last minute commitments, which made the booking of a coach no longer a viable proposition.