(SPEEDWAY 1 – WEDNESDAY REVIEW)
ALUN Rossiter has heaped praise on his Swindon riders battling against the odds.The injury-ravaged Robins suffered a 40-53 defeat at King's Lynn in the Elite League on Wednesday as they continue to operate without their regular top two riders.Reserve Lewis Kerr piled up 14+1 for the home side with Niels-Kristian Iversen adding 13, whilst stand-in skipper Nick Morris led the Robins’ scoring with 11.Rossiter said: “We need our own riders back, but my thanks to the boys who stood in and we appreciate everyone helping us out.“I just want to say how pleased I was with Nick at King's Lynn, he rode well and he's improving and maturing as a rider, and Lewis Rose did very well on his return to the side.”Meanwhile Cradley made it two wins out of two in the National League as they battled to a hard-fought 48-41 victory over Eastbourne in an entertaining clash at Perry Barr.The Heathens emerged from another tense last heat decider with Max Clegg and Nathan Greaves striking a decisive maximum to leave the Eagles making the trip back to Sussex empty-handed - despite an action-packed display from Bradley Wilson-Dean, who was the highest scorer of the meeting with 13. Arron Mogridge collected 11 for the home side.Cradley boss Will Pottinger said: “We are delighted with that result. It could and should have been a lot more to be honest, but we learnt plenty of lessons and got there in the end.“It was a great team effort to pull us over the line and get through points and deny Eastbourne a consolation points as well, which could prove vital come the end of the season.”
(SPEEDWAY 2 – THURSDAY PREVIEW)
SWINDON have called on 2012 Elite League title winner Hans Andersen for their home clash with King’s Lynn on Thursday.The sides meet for the second time in the space of 24 hours after the Stars’ 53-40 win in Norfolk, and Andersen will be joined in the Robins team by his regular Coventry team-mate Chris Harris as the duo stand in for the injured Adrian Miedzinski and Troy Batchelor, whilst Kyle Newman covers for the unavailable Charles Wright at reserve.Swindon boss Alun Rossiter said: “We need everyone to come along tonight and get right behind the boys, there are lots of positives and we also have some great guys guesting - I think we can win on our own track.”In the Premier League, early pace-setters Sheffield face Somerset at Owlerton in their first meeting since the recent injuries to Simon Stead and David Bellego.Jason Garrity makes his Tigers debut as a short-term replacement for Bellego, whilst Craig Cook comes in to guest for Stead, who is now in the Northern General Hospital with a broken leg and arm, and for whom the club will be staging a collection.Garrity said: “I’m just looking to take my chance, I’ve been told by the Sheffield management to just get stuck in and score as many points as I can. “It’s a big track, I’m sure I will need a week or two to get adjusted, but hopefully I can get in the points straight away and score the points.”Meanwhile Redcar kick off their Premier League campaign against Peterborough, buoyed by their first win of the season last week against Scunthorpe.The Panthers have called in Richard Lawson and Claus Vissing as they cover for the injured Olly Allen and unavailable Robert Lambert, and club promoter Ged Rathbone – who is based in Middlesbrough - is hoping for an away win at his most local track! Bears boss Jitendra Duffill said: “Peterborough, in my opinion, are the strongest team to visit us so far and this meeting will be our toughest one yet. They have a top five to match anyone and Simon Lambert has always shown a liking for our circuit.“We'd love to get our Premier League campaign off to a perfect start and will give it everything we have got. I'll be asking every one of our riders to out-score their opposite number and if we can do that we should come away with a victory.”Rathbone said: “It won’t be easy by any means, but it is the sort of meeting we need to be winning if are going to lay down a challenge for the title. We have done well on the road so far this season and we again have to be professional and prepared. We are going there with the intention of getting a result.“It is also a massive meeting for me on a personal level being a Middlesbrough man. I go to watch Redcar every week and I definitely want to watch my team win there.”In the League Cup there is a crucial fixture in the Southern section at Foxhall as Ipswich take on group leaders Rye House.The Witches need a clear home win and then a positive result when they visit Plymouth on Friday, whilst a draw at minimum would be enough to leave the Rockets uncatchable.Ipswich’s Gino Manzares faces a late fitness test after his crash last week whilst Rob Branford and Alex Edberg are named at reserve for Rye House, who will use rider-replacement for Steve Boxall if he is ruled out.Rockets boss John Sampford said: “It is obviously not our ideal line-up, but we’ve got to go and get something out of it to make sure of a place in the semis, so that we don’t have to rely on the Witches’ final match at Plymouth or the best-runner-up option. It won’t be easy, but we’ll go there and scrap for it.”(FIXTURES)
THURSDAY APRIL 23:ELITE LEAGUE: Swindon v King’s Lynn 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Redcar v Peterborough 7.30, Sheffield v Somerset 7.30LEAGUE CUP: Ipswich v Rye House 7.30
FRIDAY APRIL 24:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Belle Vue 7.30, Lakeside v Wolverhampton 8pmLEAGUE CUP: Edinburgh v Glasgow 7.30, Plymouth v Ipswich 7.15, Scunthorpe v Redcar 7.30, Somerset v Peterborough 7.30
SATURDAY APRIL 25:ELITE LEAGUE: Leicester v Lakeside 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Sheffield 7pmLEAGUE CUP: Workington v Edinburgh 7pm
SUNDAY APRIL 26:PREMIER LEAGUE: Peterborough v Rye House 5pmLEAGUE CUP: Newcastle v Redcar 6.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Coventry 3pmNATIONAL TROPHY: Mildenhall v Rye House 3.30PEUGEOT OPEN: Glasgow 3pm
