(SPEEDWAY 1)
PETERBOROUGH skipper Ulrich Ostergaard insists his side has what it takes to put in a strong challenge for the Premier League Fours on Sunday.The Panthers stage the showpiece event with a 2pm start as eight clubs battle it out, with the home side lining up in semi-final Group A along with Edinburgh, Workington and Ipswich.Ostergaard said: “The first job is to make sure we reach the final. That is something we failed to do last year when we were rubbish in all honesty.“It is a case of being sensible and making sure we score points in every ride. We can’t afford to take risks and end up crashing because the semi-finals are so short with only two rides each. You only have to look at the teams to see how much quality there is.”
(SPEEDWAY 2 - FRIDAY REVIEW)
SWINDON staged another dramatic comeback to pick up four more Elite League points after racing to a 50-43 win away at Lakeside.Despite only having three of their own riders, a patched-up Robins side recovered from 9-21 down after five races to make it 11-points out of a possible 15 from their four meetings this week, and further enhance their play-off chances.Recent signing Darcy Ward piled up 17+2 for the Robins and combined with skipper Troy Batchelor (11+4) for two vital late 5-1s.Swindon boss Alun Rossiter said: “What another fantastic win and what another great result when you consider the situation we found ourselves in early on.“Darcy and Troy were outstanding all night and I have to give special praise to Zengi (Grzegorz Zengota) once again. Everyone knows he struggles with these smaller, technical tracks but he’s carried on his recent, excellent form by scoring 16 at Wolverhampton on Monday and scoring nine here tonight – eight of which were from his last three rides!”Leaders Coventry were also a team to make a comeback as they extended their advantage at the top to five points with a 48-42 win over King’s Lynn at Brandon.The visitors led by six points at the halfway stage only for the Bees to respond with three 5-1s in four heats, inspired by reserve Jason Garrity who scored 14+1.Stars skipper Niels-Kristian Iversen ensured there would be some reward for his side by winning Heat 15 to secure a league point for the third-placed team.Coventry boss Gary Havelock said: “Some people were panicking a little bit but I wasn’t too worried. We’ve proved on several occasions that we’re a team who won’t fold under pressure, and we proved it again tonight.“Jason Garrity was sensational again for us, he blew the engine on his first bike after about his fourth ride and had to jump on his spare bike, and he just epitomises the spirit in the camp and the never-say-die attitude.”Meanwhile there was a stunning result for Plymouth in the Premier League as they shocked local rivals Somerset with a 52-38 away win at the Oaktree Arena.Rebels boss Garry May had no complaints with the outcome which was their first home defeat for just over two years, a run lasting for 53 matches.May said: “Plymouth were the much better side and we had one of those rare nights when it seemed like every one of our boys had a bad night at the office.“It doesn’t help when you are chasing the match and three of your riders get penalised for tapes offences, but that is no excuse for our defeat, we paid the price for the fact we just didn’t perform on the night.”(SPEEDWAY 3 - SATURDAY PREVIEW)
LEICESTER go in search of their fifth consecutive Elite League home win on Saturday when the Lions entertain Lakeside at the Jordan Road Surfacing Stadium.Scunthorpe rider Thomas Jorgensen replaces Sam Masters, who broke his hand during the Lions’ last home match against Swindon, whilst at reserve they have paired James Sarjeant and Dan Greenwood as guests.Lakeside call up Coventry duo Chris Harris and Hans Andersen with Andreas Jonsson and Kim Nilsson unavailable, whilst Max Fricke and Richard Hall also stand in for the Hammers.Leicester boss Norrie Allan said: “As a minimum we have to maintain our current form at home and begin to pick up points from the remaining away fixtures to avoid finishing bottom again. We have matches in hand over the three teams above us but of course we have to convert those into match points. “Lakeside are looking over their shoulder at us and they need the points as much as we do, so I can see that we are in for a tight contest and it is vitally important for everyone to produce their top form on the night.”In the Premier League, Plymouth will be seeking a double over Somerset after their shock Friday away win, when they host the Rebels at the St Boniface Arena, and James Wright is given his seasonal debut for the home side.Devils co-promoter Ashley Taylor said: “The signing of Wright should give us a big push to the end of the season in our bid for a top six finish to reach the play-offs.“We need to win our home matches and we hope the fans will support us in good numbers to help push us over the line.”Sheffield are in fifth place, level on points with Somerset as they head to Workington to face a Comets side who have a 100 per cent home record.The home side are at full strength whilst new signing Nicolai Klindt makes his debut for the Tigers and Danny King guests for Simon Stead at No.1.Workington boss Tony Jackson said: “We have a run of tough fixtures during August, when we will race eight league matches, which is a third of our league campaign in just one month!“With such a programme in front of us we certainly need more performances like last Saturday if we are to book a play-off place; starting with another big effort this Saturday against what is a very good Sheffield side.”Sheffield co-promoter Damien Bates said: “Danny is a very experienced rider and at this level and they don’t come much better than him! Danny knows what is expected of him and I’m sure he’ll do a great job for us.“For me I think the key will be the reserves; if Josh (Bates) and Arthur (Sissis) can take their recent home form away with them then I think we’ve got a good chance.”Meanwhile Rye House and Newcastle are level on 15 points as they go into their clash at Hoddesdon, with Robert Lambert booked to guest for the Rockets in place of the unavailable Edward Kennett.Rye boss John Sampford said: “The Diamonds are a good workmanlike side, and they have already won at Ipswich, so we know it won’t be easy.“But our season is very much alive and kicking again after the Berwick Cup victory, and we’ve got a great opportunity to ramp up our momentum. Yes, we’ll be missing Edward again, but we’ll have ideal cover in Robert, whose record in 2015 speaks for itself: big points in both leagues, a World Cup spot and a reserve role at Cardiff. I’ve tried to get him as a guest twice before, but he was unavailable, so now it really is third time lucky.”In the Travel Plus Tours KO Cup, Edinburgh face a two-point deficit going into the second leg of their tie against Redcar at Armadale.The Monarchs use rider replacement for the injured Sam Masters whilst Aaron Summers guests for the Bears in place of Lasse Bjerre.In the National League KO Cup, Eastbourne take a comfortable 14-point lead into the second leg of their semi-final tie with Kent.With Georgie Wood on the sidelines with cartilage damage to his knee, and Richard Andrews (broken thumb) also ruled out, Coventry’s Martin Knuckey comes in to guest for the Eagles.Boss Glenn Martin said: “We’ve had the upper hand so far this season against Kent but we are taking nothing for granted.“A KO Cup final in our first year as a National League club would be a brilliant achievement and the team knows just how much this would mean to everyone at Arlington. We must not give Kent even a glimmer of hope that they can back into this tie.”(FIXTURES)
SATURDAY AUGUST 1:ELITE LEAGUE: Leicester v Lakeside 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Plymouth v Somerset 7.15, Rye House v Newcastle 7pm, Workington v Sheffield 7pmTRAVEL PLUS TOURS KO CUP Q/F 2nd leg: Edinburgh v Redcar 7pmNATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP S/F 2nd leg: Eastbourne v Kent 7pm
SUNDAY AUGUST 2:PREMIER LEAGUE FOURS: Peterborough 2pmCITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Buxton v Kent 3pm
MONDAY AUGUST 3:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Poole 7.30, Wolverhampton v King’s Lynn 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Glasgow v Plymouth 7.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Kent v Mildenhall 6.30
