(SPEEDWAY 1)
KINGS Lynn boss Rob Lyon says a mid-meeting pep talk produced spectacular results from reserve Sebastian Alden in the Stars Wednesday win over Coventry.Lyons side were trailing with five heats to go with Alden scoreless from his opening two outings, but he recovered to be unbeaten in his final three.Lyon said: Seb was a bit down in the dumps and couldn't understand why. I had a long chat with him and put a bit of belief in him. You could see his determination off the line in both those races (11 and 12), he wanted to get to that corner first.Once he is in front he is so quick. He proved again it doesn't matter who it is; whether it's Chris Holder or Krzysztof Kasprzak, he is a hard rider to pass.
(SPEEDWAY 2)
EASTBOURNE manager Trevor Geer has pledged support to misfiring team members.The Eagles edged to a win over Wolverhampton last week despite a no-score from Simon Gustafsson and two points from Adam Shields, and Geer says the club are working to find the solutions ahead of their clash with Birmingham on Saturday.Geer said: Riders care passionately about their performances. It hurts when they are not scoring points and obviously hits them hard in the pocket. The team came together to discuss what happened and what can be done.We will support our team and help those who have not hit the ground running. Thats the Eastbourne way of doing things and thats where our focus is at the moment.(SPEEDWAY 3)
SHEFFIELD are through to the League Cup semi-finals after winning Thursdays crunch match with group rivals Leicester at Owlerton.The Tigers needed to take maximum points from the meeting and did so with a 51-39 victory, led by a 15-point maximum from Richard Hall and paid-13 from skipper Simon Stead.Hall said: I felt really good out there, Im really enjoying racing at the moment. The main thing today was to get through the group and we knew itd be tough, but everyone chipped in.Its nice to get a maximum of course, but the team qualifying was the main thing. Not everyone fancied us to do anything so its nice to prove some critics wrong already.(SPEEDWAY 4)
SCUNTHORPE promoter Rob Godfrey says his side go into this weekends Premier Shield clashes with Newcastle as underdogs.The reigning Premier League Champions host the Diamonds in Fridays first leg with former Hull promoter Dave Peet taking over as home team manager, whilst the return is in the North-East on Sunday.Godfrey said: Based on the way both teams have started this season, we go into the two meetings against Newcastle as the underdogs.But this is speedway, and anything can happen. We would love to finish the two legs with a second piece of Premier League silverware in the trophy cabinet.
(SPEEDWAY 5)
MILDENHALL co-promoter Chris Louis says his team will quickly recover from last weeks home defeat by Dudley when they go into National Trophy action this weekend.The Fen Tigers lost the first leg of the National Shield 41-45 to the Heathens at West Row, but Louis is confident the early cobwebs will be blown away for Sundays clash with Stoke.He said: Taking nothing away from Dudley who won fair and square and look a solid outfit, I wasn't overly surprised by the result, as so few of the boys had any decent track time. Everyone just needs to be patient and let the team settle down.Confidence in the camp is high and the boys are determined to get the opening 'W' of the season on the board and take the first steps to keeping the West Row Trophy cabinet full for another year!
(FIXTURES)
FRIDAY APRIL 12:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Kings Lynn 8pm, Lakeside v Birmingham 8pm, Peterborough v Swindon 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 1st leg: Edinburgh v Leicester 7.30LEAGUE CUP: Plymouth v Ipswich 7.15, Somerset v Rye House 7.30PREMIER SHIELD 1st leg: Scunthorpe v Newcastle 7.30
SATURDAY APRIL 13:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Birmingham 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 2nd leg: Leicester v Edinburgh 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP 1st leg: Berwick v Redcar 7pmLEAGUE CUP: Rye House v Plymouth 7pm, Workington v Newcastle 7pmCHALLENGE: Stoke v Isle of Wight 7pm
SUNDAY APRIL 14:LEAGUE CUP: Glasgow v Edinburgh 3pmPREMIER SHIELD 2nd leg: Newcastle v Scunthorpe 6.30NATIONAL TROPHY: Mildenhall v Stoke 4.30
