SPEEDWAY 1)
EDINBURGH have qualified for the Premier League Knockout Cup Final with a 46-44 win at Newcastle on Sunday.The Monarchs, already League Cup winners and into the Premier League Grand Final, took a 35-point first leg lead to Brough Park and also won on the night with dominant showings from Sam Masters and Craig Cook.Masters (13+1) won Heat 15 as Cook’s (12) run of four straight victories came to an end with ignition trouble, whilst Ludvig Lindgren top-scored for the Diamonds on 10+1.It was Edinburgh’s 19th away win of the season, and manager John Campbell said: “We were six points down after Heat 10 and I went round the boys and asked them if they wanted to lose. Three races later we were in the lead. You can’t ask for a better response than that from this marvellous team of ours.”Newcastle boss George English said: “The lads at least rode with a good level of pride in this match but our awful first leg and the undoubted quality of the Edinburgh side took them comfortably into the Final where we wish them well to take the Cup itself.”Dates for the Final have been agreed with Ipswich to stage the first leg this Thursday, with the return at Armadale on Friday.
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SCUNTHORPE rounded off their Premier League season with a 55-39 win over local rivals Sheffield at the Eddie Wright Raceway.Danish star Thomas Jorgensen scored a six-ride paid maximum whilst David Howe and guest Todd Kurtz both dropped just one point to the opposition, and Josh Auty won his first two rides before suffering a suspected broken hand and rib injuries after a second-bend accident with team-mate Matt Williamson.Guest Aaron Summers scored 15 for the Tigers, and Howe won the Kenny Smith Memorial Shield by winning Heat 15.Howe said: “I’ve achieved two things this year: I’ve regained the No 1 spot in the team and I’ve come through the season unscathed, following two-injury hit seasons.“I knew the Kenny Smith Memorial Shield was riding on the last race, and I really wanted to win that one. Josh and myself are the two Scunthorpe riders who have been here long enough to remember Kenny, so it’s a privilege to win his shield again.”Sheffield co-promoter Damien Bates said: “It was tough putting the team together and I would like to thank all the guests who accepted bookings.“Some riders have already packed their things away for the winter, but we had riders who were only too happy to come along and help us out and it is appreciated.”In the National League match which followed, Scunthorpe picked up their first win of the season with a 47-43 victory over Buxton.Guest reserve Ellis Perks took seven rides and piled up 18 points – six wins and one disqualification, whilst Tony Atkin scored 13+2 for the Hitmen, who lost reserve Stefan Farnaby to injury after a Heat 2 crash.Scunthorpe boss Richard Hollingsworth said: “It’s never really been about winning and losing for us. I guess it was nice for us to win this meeting, but it wasn’t the be-all and end-all for us.“Both sides played their part, and I was encouraged by the way several of the Buxton riders have come on, as well as ours.”Buxton’s Tom Woolley said: “Well done to Scunthorpe on their first league win. Over the two weeks of racing against them we still managed more points! But credit to them, they shaded a good meeting.”
(FIXTURES)
MONDAY OCTOBER 13:NATIONAL LEAGUE GRAND FINAL 1st leg: Coventry v Cradley OFF
TUESDAY OCTOBER 14:BANKS’S OLYMPIQUE: Wolverhampton 7.30
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 15:ELITE LEAGUE PLAY-OFF SEMI-FINAL 2nd leg: Poole v King’s Lynn 7.30
THURSDAY OCTOBER 16:PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP FINAL 1st leg: Ipswich v Edinburgh 7.30
FRIDAY OCTOBER 17:ELITE LEAGUE GRAND FINAL 1st leg: Coventry v Poole/King’s Lynn 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP FINAL 2nd leg: Edinburgh v Ipswich 7.30TUNNEL TROPHY: Kent v Arena-Essex 7.30
