Sittingbourne Crusaders 24 Scunthorpe Scorpions 68

THE silver lining of a predictably heavy defeat for the Sittingbourne Crusaders at the hands of Conference League king-pins the Scunthorpe Scorpions on Sunday was the announcement of a new sponsorship deal.

New team backers are Spray-Tex, the Ashford-based property maintenance company specialising in interior and exterior paint-spraying.

Despite a 44-point reverse, the Spray-Tex Crusaders were further boosted by the return to action of James Theobald after injury and Jon Stevens after two years out since the Wimbledon Dons closed their doors.

The 24-year-old Stevens said: "I never gave up on my career. My confidence got a major boost when I came along to a Sittingbourne club championship event and won it."

That six-race winning display was enough to secure Stevens a place in the Crusaders' squad and that became a team berth on Sunday.

He added: "It was as tough as it can get in this division, riding against Scunthorpe, but I felt I was on the pace and did more than enough to warrant future selection."

This Sunday it’s the return fixture up at Scunthorpe with the Spray-Tex Crusaders boosted by the return to the side of the exciting Danny Warwick.

Scorers: M Baseby 8; Aaron Baseby 6; Dean Felton 6; Stevens 2; Gordon Meakins 2; Joe Reynolds 0; Andre Cross 0.