(SPEEDWAY 1)
SIMON Stead scored a four-ride maximum at reserve as Swindon booked their place in the Elite League Grand Final with aggregate victory over Birmingham.The Robins took a massive 20-point lead into the home leg and took the return 55-37 with Stead winning each of his outings, and they will now face Poole on Mondaybut Alun Rossiters side now have an injury concern over Nick Morris who crashed in Heat 15.Rossiter said: Obviously we are delighted and it means a lot to be in the final. I thought our boys were thoroughly professional over the two legs against Birmingham and now we can focus on facing Poole.Nick has a sore neck and very stiff back, and hes also suffered a chipped tooth, and I have to say unfortunately hes a major doubt for Monday.
(SPEEDWAY 2)
PETERBOROUGH star Tomas H Jonasson has joined the clubs ever-growing injury list with a broken hand.The Swede crashed in the second leg of the play-off Final in his home country and will now miss the Panthers KO Cup clash with Swindon next Thursday, with Linus Sundstrom confirmed as being out for the season and Ryan Sullivan also currently on the sidelines.Peterborough boss Jan Staechmann said: We have had a horrendous run with injuries this season. It's all well and good being a formidable force when we have a full team, but having a full team has been a bit of a rarity.The Knockout Cup is now our chance to salvage something out of 2012. The promotion deserve to get something out of what has been a testing season, and it will hopefully also give our fans something to cheer about.
(SPEEDWAY 3)
SCUNTHORPE have been hit by a double injury blow ahead of their massive weekend in the Premier League play-offs.The Scorpions face three matches in three days but Josh Auty and Nick Morris have both been ruled out of at least their trip to Edinburgh on Friday after crashes during Thursdays Swindon v Birmingham Elite League play-off.Scunthorpe boss Richard Hollingsworth said: Obviously this is a big and untimely blow. Our thanks go to Sam Masters and Joe Haines for accepting a last minute booking for a meeting up in Scotland.We are certainly not giving up on the dream of reaching the play-off final, and we will be fighting for every single point over the weekend.
(SPEEDWAY 4)
LEICESTER will get their Premier League play-off campaign underway this weekend with back-to-back clashes against Newcastlestarting at Beaumont Park on Saturday.The Lions scheduled trip to Somerset on Friday has been washed-out, and co-promoter Alan Jones is hoping for a big crowd for their biggest home meeting of the season against the league leaders.Jones said: All three match points are a must against Newcastle, and secondly we have to go for every available point on the table because in a tie situation it could be settled on points scored for and against.The results between Newcastle and Somerset last weekend has given Somerset the edge so Newcastle need to win here on Saturday. So that is our challenge - to not only win but win handsomely. We are not kidding ourselves, it will be tough, very tough, but there are no easy meetings when you reach this stage of the competition and we need a great turn-out of people to add vocal support to cheer the team on.(SPEEDWAY 5)
RYE House established a strong position in the Premier Challenge Trophy with a 45-45 draw at Sheffield on Thursday.The Rockets led for much of the meeting at Owlerton only to be denied an unexpected victory by a fine ride from home skipper Richard Hall to win Heat 15, but visiting promoter Len Silver was still more than happy with his teams efforts.Silver said: To gain two away points in a three-team league provides an absolutely massive boost. In one fell swoop, it has put us on the brink of a place in the final, and the boys are rightly delighted to be on the brink of making it there.It was an outstanding night for Simon Lambert in his return to a former track. Paid 15 from seven rides speaks for itself. All the boys rode well, though; even Kasper (Lykke) deserved more than his paid-three on his first-ever visit to the track.(FIXTURES)
FRIDAY OCTOBER 5:PREMIER LEAGUE PLAY-OFF: Edinburgh v Scunthorpe 7.30, Somerset v Leicester OFF
SATURDAY OCTOBER 6:PREMIER LEAGUE PLAY-OFF: Leicester v Newcastle 7.30, Workington v Scunthorpe 7pmPREMIER CHALLENGE TROPHY: Rye House v Ipswich 7pm
SUNDAY OCTOBER 7:PREMIER LEAGUE PLAY-OFF: Newcastle v Leicester 7pm, Scunthorpe v Workington 6pmPREMIER CHALLENGE TROPHY: Glasgow v Redcar 4pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Kings Lynn 3pmNATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP FINAL 1st leg: Mildenhall v Dudley 4.30
MONDAY OCTOBER 8:ELITE LEAGUE GRAND FINAL 1st leg: Swindon v Poole 7.30
