( THURSDAY REVIEW)
GLASGOW are through to the League Cup Final after holding on for aggregate victory in a tense second leg at Sheffield on Thursday.The Ashfield side’s 14-point first leg lead eventually turned out to be sufficient as Sheffield won the return fixture 49-41, leaving them six points short overall.David Bellego and guest Brady Kurtz both scored 12 for the home side with Richard Lawson and stand-in Ricky Wells both picking up 10+1 for the visitors.Glasgow boss Stewart Dickson said: “It got too close for comfort a couple of times but we got there in the end, which is the main thing. Every one of them did their job - everyone was a hero.“The camp is happy. The owners, Gerry and Michael Facenna, were down - everybody was there - and we had a good support down. They did really well and we're very happy for them.”Sheffield manager Jack Lee said: “We thought we had a chance of making up the points, but unfortunately Glasgow knew what they had to do and we just couldn't get any sort of a lead in the first half of the meeting. “We had a team talk midway through which seemed to help, and we had 4-2 then a 5-1 straight after, but we just had too much to do in the end and couldn't quite pull it off.”In the Premier League, Edinburgh are two points clear at the top after a 45-45 draw at Ipswich.The home side saw Gino Manzares crash out in Heat 9, being withdrawn with lower back pain, and a 5-1 from Rohan Tungate and Ashley Morris in Heat 14 brought them back level before the final race was shared with Craig Cook, who had earlier broken the track record, completing a 15-point maximum for the Monarchs.Ipswich boss Phil Hilton said: “The main damage was done in Heats 11 and 12 when we let them take maximum wins. We seemed to go backwards a bit tonight with too many unforced errors and engine problems - these have to stop. “Losing Gino when we did was also a blow - hopefully he isn’t badly injured and we will see him back soon. Highlights for us were Danny’s (King) stunning win from 15m in heat one and Ashley continues to impress at reserve.”Elsewhere, Redcar were 50-43 winners over Newcastle with Lasse Bjerre top-scoring for the Bears on 13+1 whilst reserve Simon Nielsen tallied 11+4 for the Diamonds.
( FRIDAY REVIEW)
PETERBOROUGH raced back to the top of the Premier League table with a 53-37 win over play-off rivals Sheffield at the Showground.Ulrich Ostergaard and guest Nicklas Porsing both picked up 12 points for the Panthers with reserve Simon Lambert carding 10+3, whilst Tigers stand-in Edward Kennett scored 13 in a meeting containing several thrilling races.The visitors, who were also carrying several injuries, were further hit by illness to Josh Bates early in the meeting.Panthers co-boss Dale Allitt said: “We felt we had to bring in a big-hitter with Robert (Lambert) and Lewis (Blackbird) both missing, and Nicklas stepped up to the challenge.“It was great to see Emil (Grondal) and Rafal (Konopka) winning races as well and I couldn’t be more pleased with the overall performance. It is a whole team effort here and the spirit in the camp is fantastic. Everyone deserves credit on a night like this.”Sheffield co-promoter Damien Bates said: “We have been going into meetings patched up for a while now, and relying on guests is never ideal. Tonight all the problems we’ve been having just caught up with us, which was always going to happen sooner or later unfortunately.“We did ourselves proud, all the lads gave it everything and we can’t ask for any more than that. Eddie Kennett was a great guest, Jason Garrity was absolutely fantastic again and Arthur Sissis rode a lot better than his points suggest.”Somerset consolidated third place with a resounding 58-32 home win over Glasgow, to move seven points clear of the Scottish side in the table.But the scoreline didn’t tell the full story of the meeting as the scores were level at 21-21 after seven races, before the Rebels raised their game with six 5-1s in the remaining eight heats.Leigh Lanham scored a five-ride paid maximum for the home side with Brady Kurtz unbeaten from four outings, whilst Charles Wright scored 12+1. Aaron Summers top-scored for the Tigers on eight.Somerset boss Garry May said: “Glasgow certainly made things difficult for us in the opening half of the match, but then the boys suddenly stepped it up a gear and turned in an absolutely stunning performance over the final eight heats to just blow Glasgow away.“Brady was instantly back in the groove after missing last weekend’s Cup matches against Plymouth, but even though he scored a paid maximum, it was Leigh who got top billing tonight with a superb paid maximum of his own, some of his team-riding with Brady, and then with Charles Wright in Heat 15 was a joy to watch.”Plymouth moved up to tenth place, above visitors Workington, after a 50-40 win over the Comets at the St Boniface Arena.The Devils were indebted to Morten Risager and Sam Simota, who contributed 27 of their points between them with a welcome return to form, including six of the team’s eight race wins.Team manager Lee Trigger said: “It was good to get back to winning ways and brilliant to see Morten and Sam step up to the plate as they have been struggling of late.“Morten has spent some money on his bikes during the week, going back to basics and it has paid off for him.”Ipswich moved nine points clear of seventh-placed Berwick with a 47-43 win in a controversial meeting at Scunthorpe.The returning Josh Auty suffered a suspected broken hand, a re-break of the same injury which had kept him out for nine weeks, in an incident following Heat 10 which saw the Witches’ Rohan Tungate fined.Scunthorpe manager Dave Peet said: “It was always going to be tough against Ipswich, and ultimately the actions of Rohan Tungate following Heat 10 cost us this meeting. “The circumstances as to how we lost our No.1 was sickening. It's a disgrace for a meeting to be settled in that fashion. I wish Josh Auty well.”In the Travel Plus Tours KO Cup, the first-leg tie between Edinburgh and Redcar was abandoned after five races due to rain with the Monarchs leading 16-14 at the time.Meanwhile Birmingham are now a massive 17 points clear at the top of the City Gearboxes National League after a tense 47-42 win at Coventry.The Brummies trailed until Heat 11 at Brandon but secured their victory with a last-heat 5-1 from Adam Ellis, who completed a 15-point maximum, and Zach Wajtknecht, whilst the Storm were left to rue the early withdrawal of reserve Conor Dwyer who aggravated rib damage.Birmingham boss Graham Drury said: “What another incredible turnaround and what another spectacular performance from our riders. Both sides had their bits of good fortune as well as bad luck - but this is speedway and that's the way it goes."We've shown remarkable character and determination once again and this is a massive step towards our end of season goal - but there's still a long way to go.”Coventry manager Laurence Rogers said: “That was one that got away really, and Conor getting injured in his second ride after a good win in Heat 2 really messed things up for us.“Also the 5-0 to Birmingham in Heat 10 put them in the driving seat whereas previously we were in the driving seat, six points ahead, so it’s a meeting we’ve thrown away.”
(SATURDAY PREVIEW)
EDINBURGH are one point behind Premier League leaders Peterborough as they go into their away match at Berwick on Saturday.The Bandits hand a debut to new signing Mathias Thornblom and have Rohan Tungate guesting for the injured Claus Vissing at No.1. Meanwhile Richie Worrall stands in for Claus Vissing for the Monarchs.Fifth-placed Glasgow continue their Southern tour at Rye House, who are eleven points outside the play-off places but do have five matches in hand on Ipswich.The Rockets have just one absentee, that being Kasper Lykke who hopes to return by the end of the month, whilst the Tigers have brought in James Holder and Adam Royonon to replace David Howe and Dimitri Berge, whilst rider-replacement operates at No.1 for Nick Morris.Rye House boss John Sampford said: “At the risk of sounding repetitive, it’s going to be another hard and bruising meeting; there is no other way this year.“They are a very good team, and they’ve covered for their problems pretty well with their choice of guests. But we are absolutely determined to bounce back after Sunday’s result. We’ve had the best part of a week to review what happened against Berwick, and to focus on this one. There is a lot at stake in terms of keeping our hopes of a play-off spot alive, and to do that it’s got to be all about getting the win.”Workington and Newcastle are level on 12 points ahead of their meeting at Derwent Park, hastily re-arranged after the initially scheduled fixture between the clubs last Saturday was called off.In the City Gearboxes National League, Stoke host Eastbourne with the Potters looking to move off the bottom of the table - whilst the Eagles are chasing a first away win.Recent signing Gary Cottham makes his debut for the visitors, who are hoping to tap into the track knowledge of another of their mid-season arrivals, Ben Hopwood.Stoke boss Malcolm Vasey said: “Eastbourne are a very good side and we will not be taking them lightly in anyway. I do believe, though, we are capable of beating anyone around our home circuit and we will be looking to gain three points.“I was disappointed with our performance against Cradley at Perry Barr last week and we need to be getting out of the gate and winning races and we will be looking to put this right at the weekend.”Eagles director Connor Dugard said: “Ben Hopwood rode for Stoke last year and we will be looking to him for some inside information on the track and set-ups“It is many, many years since an Eastbourne team visited Stoke and we are aiming for the win to pull up back up the league table.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
NEWCASTLE have brought in Finnish rider Tero Aarnio as a replacement for the injured Lewis Rose.Aarnio will make his Diamonds debut in their home fixture against Scunthorpe on Sunday and the club will consider their position further when Rose is fit to return.Co-promoter Alan Hedley said: “We are pleased to welcome Tero to the club and look forward to a positive end to the year with him.“We will use the period of Lewis’s absence to monitor our squad to see how we will finish the season. The option to bring Lewis back into the team is very much there and the rest of the squad need to respond to that challenge as we, even at this early stage, are thinking seriously about our options for 2016.”
(FIXTURES)
SATURDAY JULY 18:PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Edinburgh 7pm, Rye House v Glasgow 7pm, Workington v Newcastle 7pmCITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Stoke v Eastbourne 7pm
SUNDAY JULY 19:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Berwick 3pm, Newcastle v Scunthorpe 6.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Coventry 3.30NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Buxton v King’s Lynn 3pmNATIONAL TROPHY: Mildenhall v Rye House 3.30
MONDAY JULY 20:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v King’s Lynn 7.30, Wolverhampton v Poole 7.30THE LAURELS: Kent 6.30
WEDNESDAY JULY 22:ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Belle Vue 7.30, Poole v Wolverhampton 7.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Cradley v Buxton 7.30
(FIXTURES)
FRIDAY JULY 17:PREMIER LEAGUE: Peterborough v Sheffield 7.30, Plymouth v Workington 7.15, Scunthorpe v Ipswich 7.30, Somerset v Glasgow 7.30TRAVEL PLUS TOURS KO CUP Q/F 1st leg: Edinburgh v Redcar 7.30, CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Coventry v Birmingham 7.30
SATURDAY JULY 18:PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Edinburgh 7pm, Rye House v Glasgow 7pm, Workington v Newcastle 7pmCITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Stoke v Eastbourne 7pm
SUNDAY JULY 19:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Berwick 3pm, Newcastle v Scunthorpe 6.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Coventry 3.30NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Buxton v King’s Lynn 3pmNATIONAL TROPHY: Mildenhall v Rye House 3.30
