(SPEEDWAY 1 – FRIDAY REVIEW)
EDINBURGH were made to work hard at Armadale before securing a 51-42 win over Peterborough to go nine points clear at the top of the Premier League table.The Monarchs are unbeaten in all 21 of their fixtures this season but had to go to the last heat to ensure all three points – despite the visitors losing No.1 Ryan Fisher with a collarbone injury after falling in both of his races.Home star Craig Cook produced the ride of the night in Heat 15 to pass both Lasse Bjerre and Ulrich Ostergaard, with Max Fricke also overtaking Ostergaard. Both Panthers riders scored double figures along with Lewis Blackbird, who picked up 14+1 including a winning tactical ride, whilst Cook led the way for the Monarchs on 13+1.Edinburgh boss Alex Harkess said: “It was a struggle and you have to give the Panthers a lot of praise for their efforts.”Panthers manager Carl Johnson said: “It looked like it could be a bad night when we conceded 5-1s in the opening two races and the loss of ‘Fish’ was a huge blow. But the lads got the heads right and stuck together - and by the end of the night Edinburgh knew they had been in a meeting.“We came so close to picking up a point with only four scoring riders. The boys were a bit down to just come up short in the end, but they can be proud of their efforts.”Scunthorpe are up to third place with a 58-38 win over Newcastle – despite suffering a no-score display from No.1 Nicolai Klindt, who had been a late arrival at the circuit.Skipper Ashley Birks and Josh Auty both scored paid maximums for the Scorpions, with Thomas Jorgensen and Ryan Douglas also in double-figures, whilst Danny King and Ludvig Lindgen dominated the Diamonds’ scoring in wet conditions.Birks said: “We’re performing well as a team. We’re getting plenty of 5-1s, and that shows we’re a solid outfit all the way throughout the team.“It seems to be clicking for the team, while it definitely clicked for me tonight. I can’t really put it down to anything, because in other meetings, I thought was riding well, but it hadn’t quite been happening for me. In this meeting, it did.”Newcastle boss George English said: “We weren’t a match for Scunthorpe and perhaps are missing our three good scorers more than we’d realised. At least Danny and Ludvig took their tactical points well and doubled their wins, but unfortunately there wasn’t a lot more to get over-excited about.”Plymouth gained their first Premier League win for a month when they took all three match points with a 50-41 victory over Redcar at the St Boniface Arena.Despite using the rider replacement facility for injured Adam Roynon and calling up Rye House rider Steve Boxall as a guest for the unwell Rasmus Jensen, the Devils were always in control after racing into an eight-point lead during the first three heats, and reserve duo Roland Benko and Sam Simota scored an impressive 20-points between them.Co-promoter David Short said: “It was a very pleasing meeting for us. The form of the two reserves was most encouraging and augurs well for the future.“Credit is also due to Redcar for their efforts, which contributed towards some good entertainment for the Plymouth public.”
(SPEEDWAY 2 – SATURDAY PREVIEW)
BERWICK will be looking to gain ground on the Premier League’s top four when Peterborough visit Shielfield Park on Saturday.The Bandits are fifth in the table despite having only ridden six matches, and can close in on Somerset with a win after their scheduled away match against the Rebels on Friday was postponed.Berwick use rider-replacement for the injured Matthew Wethers and bring in Steve Worrall for the unwell Matej Kus, whilst following Ryan Fisher’s collarbone injury at Edinburgh the Panthers have drafted in Justin Sedgmen to replace Ales Dryml and will operate r/r for the American.Panthers boss Carl Johnson said: “We’re still looking to finish the Northern tour on a high and I don’t see any reason why we can’t get a result at Berwick.“And I don’t just mean picking up one point either. I believe we will be tracking a team that could go there and win the meeting if everyone performs to the best of their ability.”Workington host Plymouth at Derwent Park, although former Comets star Adam Roynon remains on the sidelines and will miss the visit to his former club.The home side, meanwhile, have booked Lewis Rose to replace the injured Ashley Morris and are waiting on the fitness of Kyle Howarth.Manager Tony Jackson said: “There were not a great number of guests available to choose from on Saturday, however we feel we have got the best available in Lewis, who has shown great progress so far this season.”Rye House will be without Frenchman Mathieu Tresarrieu for their home clash with Redcar, and have called up Nathan Greaves as National League cover, as Tresarrieu’s absence on European Grasstrack duty does not qualify for a guest facility.Manager John Sampford said: “Nathan really got stuck in at Edinburgh. It was his first ever visit to Armadale but he rode well for his limited experience, which is why we’ve handed him another opportunity on Saturday.“We’ll need the rest of the main body of the team to show the form they did against Glasgow last Saturday in order to get the right result.”In the National League, Stoke can move into the top four with a maximum-points win over Scunthorpe at Loomer Road.
(SPEEDWAY 3)
BELLE Vue have confirmed Scott Nicholls has taken over the club captaincy from Craig Cook.The Aces made the change prior to their recent away match at King’s Lynn, with both riders agreeing the change was in the Aces’ best interests.Manager Jason Attwood said: “I had a discussion with both Craig and Scott where we unanimously decided that the latter would take over as captain with immediate effect. This looked to benefit Craig greatly while at the Norfolk Arena, where he top scored with 10+2, and I'm confident that going forward it will be a big weight off his shoulders.“I'm now hoping that without the added pressure of the captaincy Craig can get back to the good form he has shown in the past, particularly that which we saw at the British Final.”
(FIXTURES)
SATURDAY JUNE 28:PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Peterborough 7pm, Rye House v Redcar 7pm, Workington v Plymouth 7pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Stoke v Scunthorpe 7pm
SUNDAY JUNE 29:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Plymouth 3pm, Newcastle v Scunthorpe 6.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Cradley 3.30NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP: Buxton v Coventry 3pm
MONDAY JUNE 30:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Birmingham 7.30, Eastbourne v Poole 7pm, Wolverhampton v Swindon 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Kent v King’s Lynn 6.30
TUESDAY JULY 1:PREMIER LEAGUE: Peterborough v Redcar 7.30
WEDNESDAY JULY 2:ELITE LEAGUE: Birmingham v Leicester 7.30, King’s Lynn v Coventry 7.30, Poole v Wolverhampton 7.30
