Workington Comets completed a thrilling turnaround as they came from behind to beat Newcastle Diamonds 50-43 and deny the visitors a point in the final heat.

It was a dire start to proceedings as visitors Steve Worrall and Christian Henry got out front from the gate and barely broke a sweat to keep Kyle Howarth and Rusty Harrison at bay for a 5-1.

And they repeated the feat in heat two, Rafal Konopka and Simon Nielsen bursting to the front for an easy 5-1 to leave the Comets eight points behind after just two races.

Bizarre circumstances in heat three saw Lewis Kerr and Kenneth Hansen start with a 15-metre handicap for moving at the tapes originally.

Rosen got off to a flier ahead of Bach while Hansen closed the gap to his teammate and sneaked up the inside of him on the second lap, but couldn’t get close to the leader as the hosts settled for a 3-3.

Bach hit the front early in heat five but Worrall was hot on his heels until Hansen produced a spectacular pass on the second bend of the second lap behind skipper his skipper to claw back four points of the deficit with a home 5-1.

A rough start to heat six left Howarth chasing Lindgren and Harrison eyeing up Nielsen. The latter got his man and looked to have secured third place before a stunning pass on the line from Nielsen stole a Diamonds 4-2.

The comeback looked to have slowed in heat seven as the Diamonds combined to take the lead, but Wells managed to split Rosen and Kerr to make it another 4-2 to Newcastle.

Harrison pressed hard on leader Henry in heat eight but couldn’t find a way past, while Wethers was holding off Konopka admirably when the away guest fell but cleared the track in time to see another stalemate.

In what was becoming a worrying theme, the visitors yet again made the gate in heat nine. Hansen clawed his way past one of his rivals but when Bach went down on the second bend and couldn’t clear the track in time, the race was awarded as a Diamonds 4-2.

The Comets No1 made the most of a tactical ride in heat 10, blasting to the front and not giving Kerr an inch as his teammate Harrison linked up for a home 5-1 to blow the meeting wide open.

Wells did brilliantly to win heat 11 ahead of Worrall, but it was Comets starlet Williamson who deserved the most credit after a blinding start and a gritty ride to hold off Henry.

But the last-placed Diamond found himself in trouble when his bike straightened up leaving the second bend, clipping Williamson and sending him into the fence and his machine over it. The result was awarded as a Comets 4-2, but there was concern for Henry after the heavy fall and he was withdrawn from the meeting by ambulance.

A flying start saw Bach and Wethers leading from Kerr and Nielsen in heat 2. Kerr swept past Wethers but the Comet stayed steady for a home 4-2 as Workington took the lead for the first time on the night.

Wells was beaten from the start in heat 13 but stormed past Worrall on the second bend before Howarth began to crank up the heat on the Diamonds.

The British Under-21 Champion couldn’t make a move stick but another Comets 4-2 saw them stretch the gap to three points.

Williamson gated impressively in heat 14 but Hansen went one better, rocketing around the outside and away from the pack. Konopka edged his way past Williamson and Rosen tried to follow through, but the determined youngster held his own until the final bend. The Diamond slipped through and beat Willamson to the line by a whisker to share the points and set up a nail-biting final heat.

But after the disappointment of Friday’s meeting, Wells and Hansen sprang out of the gate to seal a 5-1 which denied the visitors a point and completed a dramatic comeback for the hosts.