BIRMINGHAM are waiting on news of Polish star Adam Skornicki after a heavy crash in their 42-48 home defeat to King’s Lynn on Thursday.
Skornicki came to grief in Heat 13 and was taken to hospital for further examination on suspected muscle damage to his left leg.
The visitors then reeled off two successive 5-1s to complete the turnaround from an early six-point deficit, with guest Davey Watt (11+1) top-scoring and youngsters Robert Lambert and Lewis Kerr also to the fore as they moved to within a point of Elite League leaders Lakeside.Brummies boss Jack Lee said: “It was really disappointing - early on it looked like we might be in for a good night but we just tailed off towards the end. It was a real shame to lose Adam in that crash, and we just hope his injury isn't too serious.
“Losing him knocked the stuffing out of us a bit and we were really disappointed not to get the win in the end, but our main concern is Adam at the moment.”
In the Premier League, Scunthorpe continued their remarkable record in away matches at local rivals Sheffield, their 49-41 victory being their fourth victory in succession at Owlerton.
Ryan Douglas top-scored for the Scorpions with 12 points, well-backed by ex-Tiger Josh Auty (10+2) whilst guest Sam Masters won his first three rides.
Scunthorpe boss Dave Peet said: “We produced an excellent team performance. The lads did a fantastic job, and pulled out the stops when we really needed them to.
“We needed the four points from this meeting. We’d dropped four points at home, and tonight we recovered those. It’s a night where it really couldn’t have gone much better.”
Sheffield skipper Simon Stead notched 14 but admitted the Tigers need to improve, saying: “There's no excuse for this and we know it's simply not good enough as a team. We've made a change and tried to strengthen things but it didn't happen, so we need to put it right quickly.”Ipswich took local derby honours over a depleted Peterborough team at Foxhall, racing to a 55-40 win led by double-figure scores from Morten Risager (11+1) and Cameron Heeps (10).
The visitors, already without Ulrich Ostergaard due to the Danish Final, saw Ales Dryml withdraw after a bang to his head in his second ride whilst top-scorer Lasse Bjerre was unable to compete in the re-run of Heat 15 due to hip damage.Ipswich boss Chris Louis said: “That was much better from everyone. There are still things to work on but they are all moving in the right direction and pulling together as a team. I felt comfortable that even if they came back at us halfway through we had enough in reserve to hold on to the win.”
Peterborough manager Trevor Swales said: “Hopefully there is nothing too serious for Ales and Lasse. We’ll assess their condition over the next few days, but seeing two riders hurt and failing to pick up a league point was not the night we had in mind.”Berwick overcame Redcar on aggregate in the second leg of the Tweed/Tees Trophy, with Redcar’s 49-40 home win not enough to overcome a 20-point deficit from the early-season clash at Shielfield Park.
Carl Wilkinson (12) and Richard Lawson (10+1) led the way for the Bears, whilst their former rider Matej Kus was top-scorer for the Bandits with 12.
Berwick boss Ian Rae said: “After the recent rain-offs it was good to get back on track to warm-up again with a well fought challenge fixture and we won the silverware too! But more important, it’s given the lads a chance to blow off the cobwebs again and prepare for the League once more on Saturday when we host Ipswich.”
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PLYMOUTH co-promoter Ashley Taylor says his team can still overcome Newcastle on Friday – despite the Diamonds’ recent signing of Danny King.The Great Britain international makes his debut at the St Boniface Arena following a team re-shuffle, but Taylor is looking for the Devils to hit back from a home defeat to Edinburgh last weekend.He said: “Newcastle have not started the season with all guns blazing, but bringing in a big hitter like King in place of a couple of middle order riders means they will be looking for him to be on fire.“But whatever King does he can only score 15 points from five rides, and you need 46 points to get across the line and win.”
Somerset are back to full-strength for the visit of Redcar to the Oaktree Arena, with the Rebels having picked up a point in their two away fixtures in the league so far.
Manager Garry May said: “Obviously we want to get our home campaign in defence of our Premier League crown off to the best possible start by taking all three points. We have been in superb form at the Oaktree Arena in recent weeks having hit the 60-point mark in each of our last three home matches, but we cannot afford to rest on our laurels and will approach the visit of Redcar with the same professional attitude we give every match we contest.”
Nicolai Klindt makes his seasonal debut for Scunthorpe as the Scorpions – on a high after winning at Sheffield on Thursday - host Glasgow at the Eddie Wright Raceway.Manager Dave Peet said: “We need to avoid any complacency, and make sure we get the three points. Apart from Edinburgh, we can create a gap between us and the other teams in the league and leave them playing catch-up. We know from his spell with us last season that Nicolai is going to be a terrific signing.”
Glasgow boss Stewart Dickson admits his side need No.1 Kevin Wolbert to hit form after a disappointing start to the season for the German star who has been plagued by mechanical issues.Dickson said: “It’s frustrating for me and the supporters. I know it’s going to be frustrating for him because it’s hitting him in the pocket. At the same time, he is the No.1 and we need him to sort it out.”Pace-setters Edinburgh have won their first eleven matches of the season in all competitions – one better than their previous club record for successive wins – and the Monarchs take on Ipswich at Armadale. Both sides will be at full strength as they continue a rivalry of recent seasons when they have been involved together in the latter stages of several competitions.In the National League, Coventry co-boss Laurence Rogers is expecting a strong test from Mildenhall at Brandon as the Fen Tigers look to overturn a 42-48 defeat to the Storm at West Row on Easter Sunday.Rogers said “We’re going for the double but they’re going for revenge, and I think this is probably a tougher match for us than the Cradley one. We need to negate their reserve strength and it will be interesting too with JJ (Joe Jacobs) coming back – he had an amazing home record last year.”
Mildenhall chairman Kevin Jolly said: “We will be looking to get back the points they took from us recently and with Joe back there is no reason why we cannot. The interim average changes may well also be in our favour and we go there looking for all four points!”Meanwhile King’s Lynn have booked Cradley’s Max Clegg to guest for the unavailable Lewis Rose as they face Stoke at the Norfolk Arena, whilst Stoke operate the rider-replacement facility for shoulder injury victim Lee Payne.
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LEICESTER have signed Lasse Bjerre for a second spell with the club following Peter Ljung’s decision to withdraw from British Speedway.Danish Under-21 star Bjerre rode for the Lions over the last two seasons in the Premier League and will continue at that level for Peterborough whilst doubling-up with the East Midlands club.Leicester promoter David Hemsley said: “Throughout our team building process during the winter Lasse was always in our thoughts, but when you are juggling riders’ calculated match averages to keep within a points ceiling of 32 there are occasions when you have to revise your thinking as negotiations can alter the composition of the one to five that you had in mind. “However, (manager) Norrie Allan and I have kept a watch on Lasse’s performances in the Premier League this season and he is in good form.”
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NEWCASTLE are set to bring in Dan Greenwood at reserve in time for their local derby clash with Redcar on Sunday.Greenwood, who rides for Coventry in the National League, recently lost his fast-track reserve place in the top flight with Swindon but has now secured a Premier League place for the first time subject to official approval.Diamonds boss George English said: “We are pleased to welcome Dan to Brough and hope that we can aid him in his intention to make further progress in the sport.“We would like to acknowledge the assistance of Laurence Rogers of the Coventry Storm who aided this move and we all look forward to watching Dan’s progress with great interest.” (FIXTURES)
FRIDAY MAY 16:PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Ipswich 7.30, Plymouth v Newcastle 7.15, Scunthorpe v Glasgow 7.30, Somerset v Redcar 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Coventry v Mildenhall 7.30, King’s Lynn v Stoke 7.30
SATURDAY MAY 17:ELITE LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Coventry 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Ipswich 7pm, Rye House v Sheffield 7pmBRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 2: Leicester 6.30
SUNDAY MAY 18:PREMIER LEAGUE: Newcastle v Redcar 6.30LEAGUE CUP: Glasgow v Workington 3pmNATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP Q/F 1st leg: Mildenhall v Cradley 3.30
