Coventry Storm speedway team were beaten 41-48 at Kent on Monday.
Missing skipper Luke Crang and reserve Conor Dwyer due to injuries, the Storm were always going to be up against it at Central Park but stand-in captain Dan Greenwood had a good go by taking 15 points.
Greenwood won five of his six rides - dropping his only point when he was penalised for touching the tapes in Heat 15.
Boss Laurence Rogers said to the Bees website: “It was a good performance really and we were unlucky not to get something, but we really missed Conor.
“Rider replacement worked well for us with nine points, but we had two tapes exclusions, a plug lead go for Marty (Knuckey), and a couple of falls as well.
“It was good for Jamie to start with a win in his first ride, it was another fantastic performance from Dan, and the referee got the decisions absolutely right. It’s so close but so far, but we’re still up there and we’ll bounce back.”
KENT 48: Danny Ayres 12, Ben Morley 10, James Shanes 9, Aaron Baseby 6+1, Danno Verge 5, Jamie Couzins 4+2, Ben Basford 2.
COVENTRY 41: Dan Greenwood 16+1, Rob Shuttleworth 9, Darryl Ritchings 7, Martin Knuckey 5, Jamie Halder 3, George Hunter 1, Luke Crang R/R.
National League points: Kent 3 Coventry 0
BRONZE HELMET
Dan Greenwood (Coventry - Holder) beat Danny Ayres (Kent)