(SPEEDWAY 1)
SWINDON and Lakeside have moved quickly to re-arrange their key Elite League clash at the Abbey Stadium for next Monday (Sept 16).Rain forced the abandonment of Thursday’s meeting after seven races with the home side, who can still finish top of the table, 25-17 up. The Hammers need an away win by at least seven points to move back into the play-off positions.Swindon boss Alun Rossiter said: “Obviously it’s very frustrating to get so far and then see the meeting rained off, but there was just nothing we could do about it really.“It’s disappointing not to get it out the way, but we’ll get focused again for Monday and look to get a win in our last meeting before the play-offs.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
SOMERSET raced back to the top of the Premier League with an empathic 47-26 away win at Sheffield in a match curtailed three races early.Pre-meeting rain made conditions difficult with both sides deserving credit for their efforts. The Rebels collected ten of the twelve heat wins with Nick Morris unbeaten from three rides, and they now head Ipswich on points difference ahead of a re-arranged clash with the Witches on Monday.Somerset boss Garry May said: “The boys knew that a win and four match points would take us to the top of the table, and they applied themselves to the task in hand despite what were, to say the least, very difficult conditions.“Victory over Ipswich at the Oaktree Arena will almost assure us of first place ahead of the play-offs, though the Witches will want that top spot for themselves, plus there is still a possibility that Edinburgh could sneak through on the rails, so the next few days are certainly going to be exciting, and that's before we even begin the play-offs!”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
IPSWICH achieved their target of three points against play-off rivals Edinburgh with a 51-44 win over the Monarchs at Foxhall.The Witches had no answer to visiting No.1 Craig Cook, who won all five of his outings on his way to an 18-point maximum, but kept the margin at seven points by sharing the closing races including Heats 13 and 15 behind Cook.Ipswich co-promoter Chris Louis said: “I’m pleased with the result although we should have won more easily than that. Teams like Edinburgh with a very strong No.1 and a reserve like Max Fricke who can pop out and win a heat will always be difficult to beat, but we have the ability to overcome them if everyone does what they are capable of. “There is still room for improvement in several areas and we must get that sorted ahead of next week and the play-off meetings.”(SPEEDWAY 4)
RYE House can play a significant role in the race for the Premier League play-off places when they host Redcar at Hoddesdon on Saturday.The visitors are level on match points with top-six rivals Leicester and have a race-points difference advantage of 24 over the Lions, who have completed their fixtures – but the Bears were beaten by 20 on their last visit to Rye.Rockets boss John Sampford said: “It will be a much tougher meeting than the Cup match. For a start, the Bears will be a team on a mission, looking to come here and win or at the very least keep it very close throughout.“It will be different in other ways, too. We both start level on Saturday - last time, we had the experience of the first match of a double-header whereas most of their riders came in cold. Plus, they have moved their team order around a bit with the new averages, which will make a few differences.”(SPEEDWAY 5)
GLASGOW boss Stewart Dickson says Sunday’s final Premier League match of the season for the Tigers offers them a good chance of signing off with a victory.The Ashfield side finally broke their winless run against rivals Edinburgh in the Scottish Cup last week and have again booked former favourite Josh Grajczonek to guest at No.1 when Plymouth provide the opposition.Dickson said: “Plymouth are not the strongest team in the league. They’ve made a couple of changes, they’re decent, but we now have confidence in the camp, there’s a different feeling.“Team spirit is better – it’s always better when you’re winning but it’s picked up in the last couple of weeks and we saw the results on Sunday on the track.”(FIXTURES)
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Belle Vue 7.45, King’s Lynn v Birmingham 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Somerset v Ipswich OFF (Now Mon Sept 16, 7.30pm)DEREK SNEDDON TESTIMONIAL: Edinburgh 7.30TONY SANFORD MEMORIAL TROPHY: Plymouth OFF (Now Sat Sept 14, 7.15pm)
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 14:PREMIER LEAGUE: Rye House v Redcar 7pmTEST MATCH: Great Britain v Australia, Workington 7pmTONY SANFORD MEMORIAL TROPHY: Plymouth 7.15FREESTYLE SHOW: Leicester 1pm
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 15:PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Plymouth 3pm, Newcastle v Edinburgh 6.30RETRO CUP: Scunthorpe v Sheffield 3pm
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 16:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Birmingham v King’s Lynn 7.30, Peterborough v Belle Vue 7.30, Swindon v Lakeside 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Newcastle v Plymouth 7.30, Somerset v Ipswich 7.30, Workington v Edinburgh 7.30JOE HUGHES INVITATIONAL: Wolverhampton 7.30JOHN CEARNS CUP: Kent v Wimbledon 6.30
