The MONARCH Oxford Cheetahs resurged from an initial 12-point deficit to secure a position in the Cab Direct Knockout Cup semi-finals.

Their 54-36 victory against the Glasgow Tigers at Oxford Stadium solidified a 93-87 victory on aggregate.

The pivotal point came during the concluding race, with Cheetahs racers Scott Nicholls and Sam Masters taking the lead, while Glasgow's captain Chris Harris was left at the back.

The Cheetahs had been preparing all evening, showcasing some spectacular racing, with Nicholls and Masters each conceptually contributing 12+1. Nonetheless, the balance was tipped in Cheetahs' favour due to the performance of other racers.

Key contributions were made by Jordan Jenkins, Cameron Heeps, Henry Atkins and Luke Killeen. Despite suffering from equipment issues, Mr Jenkins scored 7+2.

In contrast, both Mr Heeps (8) and Mr Atkins (7+2) had their highest-scoring meetings of the season. From reserve, Mr Killeen (8+3) added much-needed points for the Cheetahs.

The Cheetahs were ahead by four points after seven races. However, impressive performances from Atkins and Killeen in heat 8, followed by Masters and Atkins in heat 10, levelled the aggregate.

In heat 11, there was a stunning bout of speedway, with Nicholls just managing to surpass competitor Harris. Heeps triumphed in a thrilling race in heat 12, while Killeen was closing in, adding to the tension of the close finish.

This 4-2 outcome to the Cheetahs enabled them to overtake the lead on aggregate.

The final 5-1 race resulted in shared victories before the exuberant crowd.

Jordan Jenkins said: “We rode well as a team tonight and it was a good confidence booster for us all to win on aggregate after being 12 points down from the first leg. Glasgow are a solid outfit, but we did the job

"I’ve been tearing my hair out every night and every morning, wondering how I’d gone from the rider I was last year to what was happening this year, and apologies to everyone for me being so poor. But mechanically we identified a problem. We rectified it ready for Glasgow last Friday and I scored paid 16 across the two legs, which is much better.

"My first race today got me going. I missed the start, but I felt I had the speed, made the moves stick and passed both the Glasgow riders to win the race.

"We’ve all had the odd good race this year, but tonight we all came together and performed as a team and the atmosphere in the pits was really good. We’ve got a good run of fixtures now and we just want to keep it going."