DUDLEY Heathens have gone level with Newport at the top of the National Speedway League table after clinching a bonus point from their 50-45 defeat at Bournemouth on Wednesday.

The former Cradley club, who share their home meetings between Wolverhampton and Birmingham, looked destined for a heavy defeat but a late rally salvaged a valuable point in their bid to book a play-off place.

Aussie ace Jake Anderson saved his best form of the season for the last two races in his 14-point haul which included a tactical ride and he partnered skipper Lee Smart for a stunning 5-1 maximum in the last race to send the travelling and loyal Heathens fans home happy.

Boss Will Pottinger said: "The first thing I need to say is to thank our fans. We must have had well over 100 people down here, many of whom stayed over after the rain-off at the Isle of Wight on Tuesday. I can't thank them enough, they made a load of noise by the starting gate.

"Even though we lost it feels like we won in many ways. We had a couple of riders who struggled, but they have the chance to put it right in our home meeting at Wolves on Tuesday against Rye House - we're looking forward to that one. We could have lost this by a big margin on a slick track which suited Bournemouth, but we dug deep and showed a lot of character. I'm satisfied with our efforts."

Heathens will be gunning for maximum points when they face Rye House at Monmore Green, Wolverhampton, next Tuesday, April 17 (7.30).

BOURNEMOUTH: Mark Baseby 12, Jerran Hart 11, James Brundle 9+1, James Sargeant 8+3, Kyle Howarth 6+1, Danny Stoneman 2+1. Aaron Baseby 2.

DUDLEY: Lee Smart 14+1, Jake Anderson 14, Ashley Morris 8+1, Mickey Dyer 6+1, Barrie Evans 2, Tom Perry 1+1, Richard Franklin 0 .