(SPEEDWAY 1)
SHEFFIELD skipper Simon Stead has been diagnosed with a broken upper arm and broken femur following his horrific crash at Rye House on Saturday.The Tigers No.1 was airlifted to hospital in serious discomfort after he fell and was struck by team-mate David Bellego in Heat 15 of their win at Hoddesdon.Stead is now in a stable condition in hospital but faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines following the initial diagnosis of his injuries.Bellego is also set to be ruled out for six weeks as he suffered a hip injury in the crash, and the Tigers are seeking a short-term replacement.Co-promoter Damien Bates said: “Our thoughts are with Simon and David, it’s a massive blow to the team but more importantly we wish the lads well.“Our thanks go to Craig (Cook) for stepping in on Thursday and we are actively looking at what options there may be available for us to sign someone on a short-term basis.”
(SPEEDWAY 2 – SUNDAY REVIEW)
GLASGOW are back on top of the Border section of the League Cup after getting the better of Scottish rivals Edinburgh 51-42 at Ashfield.Skipper Aaron Summers delighted the home crowd with a last-bend swoop on the Monarchs’ Kevin Wolbert to win Heat 7, and then defeated the visitors’ star duo of Craig Cook and Sam Masters in Heat 13.Summers top-scored with ten points for the Tigers whilst Masters piled up 16+1 for the Monarchs. The teams meet again at Armadale on Friday.Summers said: “All the boys chipped in and pushed hard. We dropped a few little points from mistakes but we had the win, so it was good.“We're a solid team right the way through. Even the boys below us top two or three are digging deep which is great.”Newcastle picked up a win from their first competitive home match of the season, defeating Scunthorpe 53-39 in the Northern section of the League Cup.The Diamonds were in control for much of the meeting with three riders – Ludvig Lindren (13), Christian Henry (11) and Lewis Kerr (10) – in double figures, whilst Josh Auty (11) and Carl Wilkinson (10+1) were the Scorpions’ top scorers.Newcastle boss George English said: “It was a good home win and although track conditions were not easy all the team put in a good performance that resulted in a solid win.”“It was important to get off to a good start in the meeting and we were solid throughout the night which didn’t allow Scunthorpe to hit back at us.”Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey said: “The two meetings against the Diamonds have been a dress rehearsal for the Knockout Cup clashes between the two sides. “On aggregate, we won by 92-90 (it was 90-90 if you take out our tactical ride, which are not allowed in the cup), so those are going to be two meetings to relish, when they come along.”In the National League, Eastbourne roared to a 64-24 home win over King’s Lynn – but have injury concerns over two riders. Heat-leaders Danny Warwick and Marc Owen both withdrew from the meeting, with Warwick taken to hospital in Brighton with neck injuries. Bradley Wilson-Dean scored a 15-point maximum as the Eagles still dominated the meeting.Chairman Martin Dugard said: “We are concerned about the injuries to both riders and we are waiting for definite news, particularly of Danny. “It is too early to give any news about the team for the trip to the Midlands (Cradley on Wednesday). We will see where we are on Monday morning.”Jack Kingston made a successful return to action as Mildenhall defeated Kent 48-41 at West Row to take three points from their opening league fixture.Kingston scored ten from five rides having taken a short break from the sport, but the home side saw guest Nick Laurence suffer a suspected broken collarbone in a Heat 5 crash. James Shanes top-scored for the Kings with 13 whilst Ben Morley was unbeaten after a first-ride disqualification.Mildenhall promoter Kevin Jolly said: “Even when we were losing meetings I never for one moment doubted the ability of this side or felt the need to panic. With Jack looking smooth from the off the team had a real balance to it today. “It was a shame to lose Nick and we hope he is soon back on a bike, but it means I am again looking for a rider and will make some enquiries over the next couple of days.”Kent boss Chris Hunt said: “It was a good fighting performance from the lads. Without Danny (Ayres) it was always going to take an all round team effort to take anything from the meeting and that’s what was delivered.“But for a couple of tapes offences and that exclusion for Ben in his first ride we could have certainly got something from the match.”Stoke are through to the quarter-finals of the Knockout Cup – despite a 44-45 home defeat to Rye House, with the Potters going through by two points on aggregate thanks to their win at Hoddesdon on Easter Monday.Luke Chessell scored a 15-point maximum for the Raiders but home skipper Jon Armstrong kept guest Tom Perry at bay to ensure the home side’s overall progression.Stoke boss Malcolm Vasey said: “I thought the meeting was an excellent advert for speedway but did not feel that it was us at our best by any means. “Yes, we won on aggregate by two points but I feel we should have won by more - but we are through and I’ve talked to a lot of supporters today and they’ve said that if every match was like this one then the place will be packed, and they felt it was entertaining.”There was also a 15-point maximum for Dan Greenwood as Coventry defeated a Cradley/Birmingham Select team 49-40 at Brandon.Storm boss Laurence Rogers said: “All in all we can take plenty of positives. We wanted to put together two evenly-matched teams, and the boys have taken advantage of the track-time ahead of our trip to Buxton next Sunday. “Dan seems to have really got that ‘want’ in him this year. He wants to be No.1 and get himself up to a Premier League spot, and there’s a lot for him to go for. He’s flying.”
(SPEEDWAY 3 – MONDAY PREVIEW)
BELLE Vue are on a revenge mission when they host Coventry in the Elite League at Kirkmanshulme Lane on Monday.The Aces lost all four of their matches against the Bees last season, and will be aware of the visitors’ impressive away record so far in 2015 which has already seen them win at Leicester and Poole.Belle Vue call up Josh Grajczonek to guest for the injured Simon Stead, and skipper Scott Nicholls expects his team to gain a second home win in succession.Nicholls said: “Of course Chris (Harris) and Hans (Andersen) know Belle Vue very well, and Jason Garrity is their star reserve who caused us quite a few headaches last year. But let's be honest, you have to expect great riders like them to perform well at a track they're very familiar with.“I don't see any of them as a bigger threat than their team mates, just as I don't see Coventry as any more of a threat to us than the other Elite League clubs. On paper we can easily match them and I see no reason why that shouldn't also be the case in practice.”Coventry boss Gary Havelock said: “I fully believe that if we can keep it going and stay injury-free, we can do great things this year.“We proved last year what we could do on a number of occasions from home, but we just ran out of steam unfortunately right at the end. Danny King, who has come into the side, has said to me that he can’t believe how good the team spirit is, it’s sensational, and that gets you a long way especially in tight matches.”Wolverhampton, meanwhile, are also chasing a second home win as they welcome Lakeside to Monmore Green.Wolves will be at full strength whilst the Hammers bring in Jason Doyle to replace skipper Andreas Jonsson, who is on the sidelines with a knee injury.Manager Peter Adams said: “Lakeside are another good team who have had good results here in the past, so we know we are going to have to be on our guard.“We had a good win against Belle Vue, I thought it was a terrific performance and we took a lot of encouragement because they are a very strong side this year. We know we’ll need a similar performance against Lakeside, to make sure we add three more points to our tally.”
(FIXTURES)
MONDAY APRIL 20:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Coventry 7.30, Wolverhampton v Lakeside 7.30
WEDNESDAY APRIL 22:ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Swindon 7.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Cradley v Eastbourne 7.30
THURSDAY APRIL 23:ELITE LEAGUE: Swindon v King’s Lynn 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Redcar v Peterborough 7.30, Sheffield v Somerset 7.30LEAGUE CUP: Ipswich v Rye House 7.30
FRIDAY APRIL 24:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Belle Vue 7.30, Lakeside v Wolverhampton 8pmLEAGUE CUP: Edinburgh v Glasgow 7.30, Plymouth v Ipswich 7.15, Scunthorpe v Redcar 7.30, Somerset v Peterborough 7.30
