BELLE VUE boss Mark Lemon admitted it was a “frustrating” defeat at Birmingham.
The ATPI Aces went down by 47-43 in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership at Perry Barr on Monday night.
It was all level going into the last heat decider but No.1 Dan Bewley touched the tapes after movement from Brummies star Tobiasz Musielak, who received a warning from the referee Chris Gay.
With Bewley starting from 15 metres back, the home pair of Matej Zagar and Musielak got the drop on Zach Cook and Bewley to snatch the win.
There was also controversy in Heat 10 when Birmingham’s Jonas Jeppensen ruthlessly took out Cook without punishment.
The ATPI Aces were without captain Brady Kurtz after he crashed out of the Prague GP on Saturday night.
Lemon admitted: “I was firstly very disappointed with the decision by the referee not to exclude Jeppesen in Heat 10 when we were on a 5-1.
“It was clear dangerous riding with Jeppesen taking out Zach right to the fence and there was clear contact. That cost us a couple of points.
“It’s obviously a frustrating ending. That’s sport, that’s what gets your heart pumping.
“There’s fine lines in a close meeting in the top flight and every decision is critical.
“Unfortunately the decisions went against us a little bit. Heat 15 is tough to take but there’s not much you can do about it. No one is to blame or point the finger at.
“I think we covered Brady’s absence quite well. We can’t really question that.
“In the end I felt the boys put in a really fighting performance but it just didn’t quite go our way on this occasion.”
It was nip and tuck all the way through. Bewley was excellent until the last race disappointment.
Cook, Lidsey and Norick Blodorn provided solid back-up while Jake Mulford pulled out a cracking win in Heat 8. Tate Zischke had a tough night after lifting and crashing while leading Heat 2. It just all came down to the wire in the final race.
Lemon added: “We went with Zach in Heat 15 because he was going well. He was on a 5-1 with Jaimon (Lidsey) in Heat 10 before Jeppesen took him out.
“Then he made an excellent start in Heat 14. So he would have been unbeaten in his last two rides.
“He knows Perry Barr really well with being dialled in at the end of the meeting, he also had a warm tyre and being an ex-Birmingham rider, he wanted to prove a point.
“It was always going to be a challenge off gate one because gate two was definitely working better in the latter stages.
“In the end you are working with percentages. The plan was for Dan to do something from gate three and Zach to pick up what he could.
“Matej Zagar is a world class rider, we know that at Belle Vue, and he found a start when it was needed.
“It’s a frustrating night. But you have them in a long season, you have to accept it in sport.
“Our attention turns to Thursday night in Manchester. It’s all about the win and picking up the aggregate bonus point.”
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R1
BIRMINGHAM 47: Matej Zagar 14, Tobiasz Musielak 11+1, Jason Edwards 8+4, Paco Castagna 6, Jonas Jeppesen 6, Keynan Rew 2+2.
BELLE VUE 43: Dan Bewley 14, Jaimon Lidsey 10, Zach Cook 9+1, Norick Blodorn 6+1, Jake Mulford 4, Tate Zischke 0.