CRADLEY heat-leader Jack Smith felt his side were made to pay for a slow start at the Isle of Wight.

The Heathens slipped to a 53-37 defeat at the Smallbrook Stadium on another frustrating night overall.

And Smith feels Cradley made lives hard for themselves early doors.

“We got off to a really slow start and were ten points down after three races,” Smith said.

“Thankfully though I came out and won heat four and then Max (Clegg) went out and won heat five.

“We struggled to get many heat advantages though and that obviously didn’t help.

“We got a bit better as a team as the meeting went on and it was good to see the younger members of the team finish on a bit of a high.

“Tom (Spencer) won Heat Eight and then got a paid second, Harry (McGurk) finished with a second place and Sheldon (Davies) got a couple of thirds too.

“We know it doesn’t count for much unfortunately though but we just have to take each meeting as it comes.

“We know we need to start picking up more points if we’re serious about getting in that top four.

“But we’ll keep working hard as a team, we’ll keep pushing and that’s all we can do really.

“From a personal point-of-view it’s been another tough week with Redcar getting rid of me.

“I’ve had two pretty good meetings for Cradley against the Isle of Wight - but there’s still more to come!”

Smith led the way alongside captain Clegg once again while Luke Harris endured a steady night.

Danny Halsey will be the most frustrated Heathen again though after sliding off whilst in a points scoring position in his opener before mechanical gremlins creeping when he was leading his final ride - and to add insult to injury he then found himself wiped out by Warriors’ debutant Scott Campos.

Heathens now prepare for the National League Fours at Stoke a week on Saturday (July 13) with their next fixture at Kent a week on Monday (July 15).

ISLE OF WIGHT 53: Georgie Wood 15, Ben Morley 10+1, Chris Widman 8+2, Danno Verge 7+2, Scott Campos 7+1, Chad Wirtzfeld 4, Connor King 2+1.

CRADLEY 37: Max Clegg 11+1, Jack Smith 10+1, Luke Harris 5+2, Tom Spencer 4+1, Danny Halsey 3+1, Harry McGurk 2, Sheldon Davies 2.