(SPEEDWAY 1 – SATURDAY REVIEW)

EASTBOURNE returned to third place in the Elite League table with a 50-40 home win over Lakeside at Arlington.The Eagles now lead the Hammers, who are one place outside the play-offs, by three points, although only one of their remaining seven fixtures is on their own circuit.Bjarne Pedersen and guest Kyle Newman both scored 11+2 for the Eagles, with guest Craig Cook also picking up 11+2 for the Hammers.In the Premier League, Berwick reserve Matej Kus scored an astonishing seven-ride paid-21 maximum against his former club Redcar to enhance the Bandits’ position in the top four.The home side won 52-43, taking all three points from the meeting with Kus piling up 20+1, backed up by Steen Jensen on 12+1. Aaron Summers (14) and Hugh Skidmore (10+1) were both in double figures for the Bears.Berwick boss John Anderson said: “It took us a long time to remember the last time a Berwick Bandit scored a full or paid 21-point maximum, and we think it might have been Claus Kristensen over a decade ago, but Matej’s achievement will go down in Berwick history as a moment people will remember seeing in years to come.“Other than that massive achievement the rest of the lads weighed in with vital points and young James Sarjeant – our National League guest scored a vital point that tipped the balance and gave us all three league points, so everyone played their part to the max!”Workington were the big movers of the evening as they continued making inroads into their fixture backlog by taking maximum points from their home matches against Rye House and Scunthorpe.The Comets’ 63-31 demolition of Rye House was their biggest victory of the season so far and they also beat the Scorpions 49-41, securing all three points with a 3-3 in the last race.Workington leap up to eighth place in the table, six points off the play-offs, whilst Scunthorpe remain in a comfortable fifth.Comets team manager Tony Jackson said: “Following last weekend’s home defeat to Glasgow this was the perfect way to bounce back and keep our play-off hopes alive. For the first time since May we were able to field a team of seven riders and no guests and every one of them did a great job in both meetings. “We now need to produce more performances like that starting with our return visit to Scunthorpe this afternoon (Sunday).”Scunthorpe boss Dave Peet said: “I guess it was disappointing to just miss out on a point. But to be honest, it was like trying to push water uphill all night, because we were only firing on four cylinders. “Josh Auty (13 points) was awesome – he was a man on a mission. The big positive in this meeting was just how well Josh rode.”Rye House manager John Sampford said: “It really was all about gating tonight. Edward (Kennett) made three excellent starts, and won those races easily, but he found it so much harder in his other heats. He also hit carburettor problems in his last race which we will need to sort out before tomorrow’s (Sunday) match.”Ipswich strengthened their position in the top four with a 54-36 home win over Sheffield, moving up to second place with two matches to go as they completed a quickfire double against the Tigers.Gino Manzares was top-scorer on 12+1 and received good support from Cameron Heeps (11+1), Richie Worrall (11) and Rohan Tungate (10+1) whilst Simon Stead led the Sheffield scoring on 12.Sheffield boss Joe Screen said: “We got off to a great start and I thought we might get something, but they just had a few 5-1s which knocked us back and we tailed off towards the end."We always knew it was going to be difficult, and in the end I don't think the result quite reflected the effort the lads put and how well they rode at times.”In the National League Mildenhall pulled off their best result of the season with a 44-40 win at Stoke despite racing without their regular top three and reserve Jack Kingston.Brendan Johnson headed an all-round show from the much-changed Fen Tigers with 10 points to significantly strengthen their position in the top four with an away win over one of the chasing group.Mildenhall chairman Kevin Jolly said: “This team never fails to surprise me! After the home defeat against Cradley and the away loss at Kings Lynn our season seemed to have hit a brick wall, but to their credit the youngsters have responded brilliantly and following a fine display on Sunday we have claimed a very important win tonight in the race for a play-off place.”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

POOLE have called up Russian star Emil Sayfutdinov and two of their former riders for the inaugural World Speedway League event in Zielona Gora on Sunday.The Pirates are without the suspended Darcy Ward and the injured Przemyslaw Pawlicki for the competition which pits them against reigning league champions of three other nations, with the host club joined by Piratena (Sweden) and Esbjerg (Denmark) – and their hopes of tracking Chris Holder were also dashed.Sayfutdinov, Piotr Pawlicki and Leon Madsen are joined by Pirates regulars Josh Grajczonek and Maciej Janowski.Promoter Matt Ford said: “I accept that the use of guests is not an ideal situation but neither would putting out an under-strength side in the competition. Zielona Gora have boldy agreed to stage the event and I know from the costings that I did initially it is not a cheap meeting to put on. “The competition deserves to have a world class line-up. It is attracting a lot of interest, we have many fans from Poole making the trip at the weekend to see the Gorzow GP and going on to support Poole in this new competition.”

(SPEEDWAY 3 – SUNDAY PREVIEW)

COVENTRY and Leicester go head-to-head in two Elite League meetings on Sunday with both sides having big incentive to score heavily.The matches were rained-off on Bank Holiday Monday and now take place at Brandon at 2.30pm with the return at the Jordan Road Surfacing Stadium at 7.30pm. The Bees can move into the top three in the table with at least four points from the day, whilst the Lions are fighting to move clear of Belle Vue.Coventry captain Chris Harris said: “It’s going to be tough, Leicester have some good riders who will be good around our place, and they’re good at their home track too.“But we’re the same – we’ve already been there and won earlier in the season so whoever we race, we’re not worried. We’re on a good roll and we’ve just got to keep going.”Leicester boss Norrie Allan said: “We will go to Brandon hoping to at least equal our previous performance when we picked up a point in April. They have run into good consistent form of late but we should not fear them on their territory. “Our form at home has picked up lately and I can see another tight match ahead of us at Leicester which if past results is anything to go by will end with another last-heat decider.”In the Premier League, fifth-placed Scunthorpe host Workington, who will be missing Rene Bach and Josh Grajczonek due to the World Speedway League event in Poland.Tom Perry makes his Scorpions debut at reserve, and promoter Rob Godfrey said: “We’ll be out there to collect a win, and add further points to our account, to strengthen our claim to fifth place in the Premier League table. “The one thing we can’t afford to do is to lose at home to the teams chasing us, such as Workington. It's a vital meeting for us.”Workington boss Tony Jackson said: “Rene is riding for his Danish club Esbjerg, who won their top league last season, while reigning Elite League champions Poole have just called up Josh for the same meeting. “This means that we will be using rider replacement for Rene at Scunthorpe today while last year’s number one Comet, Richard Lawson, will come into the side as a guest in place of Josh.”Rye House continue their weekend Northern tour with a trip to Glasgow, with both sides forced into changes for a variety of reasons – and Rockets boss John Sampford his hoping the meeting can cure the Rockets’ travel sickness.Sampford said: “We’ve really got to get our gating act together if we want the right result. Ashfield is another circuit where trapping is critical, so we’ve got to get out of the start much better than Saturday if we want to win there. “We’ll also need a change in fortune for one or two riders who struggled (at Workington), though not for want of effort. It’s down to us.”National League action sees Scunthorpe host Stoke after the Premier League fixture at the Eddie Wright Raceway, whilst Buxton are looking to bounce back from a heavy defeat at Coventry on Friday when they take on King’s Lynn at the Hi-Edge Raceway.Hitmen No.5 Ryan Blacklock said: “We know we need to do better and we will turn in a better performance against Kings Lynn. I am relishing riding at No.5 but now need to start scoring heat-leader points.”A vital meeting in the National Trophy sees Mildenhall take on Leicester at West Row, knowing three points should be enough to take them into the Final.Fen Tigers chairman Kevin Jolly said: “It will be good to see Jack (Kingston) back after his short break and hopefully he can link up with Connor (Mountain) and prove a key player in what is a must win fixture. “Our support has been magnificent this season and hopefully they will stick with us as we enter the final push for the trophies. Our young riders are improving week on week and the support they receive from the terraces is a big plus.”Meanwhile, the sport’s rising stars are in action at Rye House in the fifth round of the British Youth Championship from 2pm, with nearly 40 races to be run across the four categories.GB Youth co-boss Neil Vatcher said: “Anyone that comes to Sunday’s event will not be disappointed in either the determination or effort that every rider puts in to their racing, and will also, of course, be vocally supporting the next generation of British talent. “With four rounds of the series already staged across the country in 2014, it is clear that the standard of the Youth Riders is getting higher each and every year, and this season’s class is no different.”

(SPEEDWAY 4)

PETERBOROUGH boss Carl Johnson has blasted his side after their “embarrassing” defeat at Somerset on Friday.The Panthers, who still harbour play-off ambitions, were routed 59-25 at the Oaktree Arena, and Johnson is calling for a big response when they stage a home double header against Scunthorpe and Plymouth on Tuesday.Johnson said: “I told the team the performance was abysmal and embarrassing. We were out-gated, out-muscled and out-ridden during what was the lowest moment of my time as team manager - even more so than the recent home defeats.“I've said all along that Somerset are the best team in the league and they have beaten most opponents by big scores at their place. But that is no excuse for our lacklustre display and I feel sorry for the paying public who witnessed it - especially those Peterborough fans that made the long journey down there.”

(FIXTURES)

SUNDAY AUGUST 31:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Leicester 2.30, Leicester v Coventry 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Rye House 3pm, Scunthorpe v Workington 3pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v King’s Lynn 3pm, Scunthorpe v Stoke (follows PL fixture)NATIONAL TROPHY: Mildenhall v Leicester 3.30BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 5: Rye House 2pm

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 1:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Coventry 7.30, Lakeside v Poole 7.30, Wolverhampton v Leicester 7.30

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 2:PREMIER LEAGUE: Peterborough v Scunthorpe 7pm, Peterborough v Plymouth (follows previous fixture)NATIONAL LEAGUE: Cradley v Devon 7.30

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 3:ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v Wolverhampton 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Rye House v Peterborough 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Cradley 7.30