THE Wasps now face a mammoth task at Exeter in the second leg to make British League KO Cup progression after golden-gate victories from Mads Korneliussen and Craig Watson failed to prevent a fourth successive home defeat.

Star man Mark Lemon and Graeme Gordon gave Exeter a 5-1, first-heat maximum, and thanks to five such scorelines in the opening nine races, the visitors were in control.

The first attempt at reducing the deficit came in heat six, with number-one heat leader Korneliussen, partnered by second string Carl Wilkinson, bidding to win the race and double his points to six.

Korneliussen charged away, and it's doubtful Exeter's Michael Coles would have caught him if he hadn't pulled up with mechanical problems.

That 8-1 success meant the visitors led by only three points at 21-18. But by the end of heat 12, they held a 43-32 advantage.

Up stepped skipper Craig Watson, in tandem with Korneliussen, to demolish Lemon and Coles and post another 8- 1, which gave the Wasps an outside chance of gaining an unlikely win.

However a 4-2, heat-14 win for visiting pair Mark Simmonds and former Wasps Roger Lobb over home duo Paul Clews and Luke Priest confirmed Exeter's victory.

There was time for a last-heat, 4-2 success for Watson and Korneliussen over Lemon and Seemond Stephens. However, having already lost 63-29 at Exeter in March in a Premier Trophy encounter, the Wasps will have to improve vastly to make it to the next round.

The Gwent side had a lopsided look about it yesterday, with rider replacement being used for star Pavel Ondrasik, and Paul Clews, of Stoke, guesting for Tony Atkin.

Clews got off to a bad start by being excluded in his first race, when he was deemed to have been responsible for the race being stopped following a crash, while the Wasps only managed to gain three points from Ondrasik's four races.

l The Wasps travel to face Reading in a Premier League clash tonight with Workington Comets' Finnish star, Kauko Niemine, deputising for Atkin.

Newport Wasps: 1: Mads Korneliussen 13+1(6), 2: Carl Wilkinson 7+(5), 3: Rider replacement for Pavel Ondrasik, 4: Paul Clews (guest) 6(5), 5: Craig Watson (c) 14(5), 6: Luke Priest 3(4), 7: Karl Mason 3+1(5). Exeter Falcons: 1: Mark Lemon 11+1(5), 2: Graeme Gordon 6+1(4), 3: Seemond Stephens 10+1(5), 4: Mark Simmonds (c) 8+1(4), 5: Michael Coles 5(4), 6: Roger Lobb 9+1(5), 7: Paul Candy 1(3).