Edinburgh Monarchs were left to ponder what might have been after Workington Comets pulled off one of the most remarkable comebacks in KO Cup history to leave the Scots stunned at Derwent Park.
Monarchs travelled with a 59-31 lead from the first leg but Comets won the return fixture 61-29 to go through to the final by a four-point aggregate margin.
The overall scores were level heading into Heat 15 before Edinburgh No1. Ricky Wells, a former Comets star, was disqualified for illegal preparation of his gate with Nicolai Klindt and Ty Proctor then sweeping to a 5-1 over Richie Worrall and William Lawson.
Proctor (12+2), Mason Campton (10+3), Klindt (10+1) and Rasmus Jensen (10) all scored double-figures for the Comets, with Worrall on 9+1 for the Monarchs.
Workington boss Tony Jackson said: “We were all pretty down after our performance at Armadale, but I knew that if anyone could turn it around then this team could.
“We have confounded the critics all season and proved that with hard work and a good team ethic we can achieve anything and tonight proved that once again.
“Going into the match I hoped we could do it but told them all that in order to do so we needed to hit Monarchs hard in the early stages and take it from there; and, once we were ten points up after Heat 4, I told them all that we could do this if we could keep it going.
“To a man they stepped up to the plate and worked as a team.”
He added: “The tension going into Heat 15 with the aggregate scores level was almost unbearable, but the place erupted when Nicolai and Ty crossed the line to book our place in the final. That was a special moment.
“A few of our fans stayed away tonight thinking that it was a lost cause but they should know by now that we never give up; I’m sure they won’t stay away again, whatever the score.”
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