Reading Bulldogs slipped to a shock 47-43 home defeat to the Wolverhampton🌳 Wolves On Wednesday evening at Smallmead Stadium.

Reading actually led by six points after heat 6, and were still four points up with five heats to go, but the fast-starting Wolves riders made the Bulldogs pay with a strong🅰 finish to the meeting.

Greg Hancock led the Reading score chart with 10 points and Charlie Gjedꦦde rode well for his 9 (paid 10), but after that the Bulldogs had a few riders who didn't hit their usual Smallmead scoring power.

For Wolverhampton Peter Karlsson led the way with 12, but it was very much a team🌃 effort, with Billy Hamill 10 (paid 11), Freddie Lindgren 9 (paid 10) and Magnus Karlsson 🅠6 being the pick of the bunch.

Heat 1 saw Peter Karlsson and Christian Heffenbrock fly from the start, but Hancock got past Heffenbrock, but it stil🙈l meant Wolves opened up on the night with a 4-2.

Sam Simota won heat 2 ahead of Magnus Karlsson and with Glenn Cunningham passing William Lawson ♚on the third lap, the Bulldogs 4-2 levelled things up at 6-6.

Reading moved ahead with a 4-2 from Gjedde and Janusz Kolodziej in heat 3, but heat 4 saw Hamill and Magnus Karlsson level things up with aღ 4-2 o🗹f their own.

Peter Karlsson made the start in heat 5, but Gjedde and Kolodziej went either side of the Swede🧔 on the third and fourth bend to link up for a Bulldogs 5-1.

A Hancock/ Travis McGowan 4-2 in heat 6 increased Reading's lead ဣto 21-15, but Wolverhampton hit back in heat 7 when Li🎐ndgren and Ronnie Correy raced to a comfortable 5-1 over Matej Zagar.

McG🐠owan won heat 8, but Hefenbrock just got the better of Simota in a hard battle for second place, so the Bulldogs had to make do with a 4-2. This put Reading into a 26-22 lea💝d.

Hamill and Lawson flew from the start and looked set for a 5-1 in heat 9, but Gjedde moved up𓂃 the inside on the second lap and took Lawson wide which also let Kolodziej through to give Reading a share of the points.

Correy rode a superb first lap to win heat 10 ahead of McGowan and Hancock✅ just got the better of Lindgren for third place. The ensuing 3-3 mad🦩e the progressive score 32-28 in Reading's favour.

Heat 11 certainly wasn't a good one for the home side. Zagar lifted as🔜 the tapes rose which let Peter Karlsson and Hefenbrock get away, where they raced to a 5-1 with Cunningham in third place and Zagar bringing up the rear. The Wolves maximum evened up the scores at 33-33.

Simota made a super start to win heat 12. Magnus Karlsson just got the better of a great battle with Kolodziej for second place, h༺owever the resultant 4-2 did put the Bulldogs back in front at 37-35.

Peter Karlsson and Hamill made the perfect s﷽tart in heat 13 and then the Wolves duo produced a great piece of team-riding for four laps to keep out Hancock in third place. The Wolves 5-1🌱 meant that they went into a 40-38 lead with just two heats remaining.

Lindgren rode a good heat 14 to pass and re-pass Gjedde to pick up a crucial race win for the visitors. Magnus Karlsson beat Simota for third place, so the Wolves 4-2 put them four-points up (44-40) going into the final rac🧜e of the eve🦹ning.

Heat 15 saw Hancock and Gjedde make the start, but Peter Karlsson passed Gjedde down the back straight. Gjedde came back ✅at the Swede, but the Wolves rider took him wide which saw Gjedde crash into the Smallmead air fence where he was excluded from the re-run. In the re-start Hancock pulled off a great outside overtake of Karlsson on the second lap to take th♐e win. Lindgren was third for Wolverhampton and the last heat 3-3 made the final score 47-43 in favour of the Wolves.