(SPEEDWAY 1)
PLYMOUTH boosted their hopes of reaching the Premier League play-offs with a convincing 65-27 victory over Newcastle in Friday’s match at the St Boniface Arena.The result leaves the Devils needing ten points from their final four matches to overhaul Ipswich and finish in the top six.Kyle Newman and Jack Holder top-scored with 12+2 apiece in an impressive all-round team display, and there was also a strong debt from Linus Eklof with 10+1.Plymouth co-promoter Ashley Taylor said: “We have brought Linus into the side because we need a team capable of producing results at home and away in our remaining fixtures.“The win over Newcastle was due to a good team effort all round and now our target is ten points from the 14 available to us.”Somerset have moved into second place with a 57-35 win over Peterborough at the Oaktree Arena - a result which also confirms Edinburgh as league leaders going into the play-offs, despite their match with Berwick being postponed.Panthers boss Carl Johnson did, however, take more positives from the meeting compared to Thursday’s defeat at Ipswich.He said: “The scoreline doesn’t reflect how well we did at a very tough place to go. We kept things very close in the opening few heats before Somerset managed to build a lead.“And while they proved too strong in the end, we gave a much better account of ourselves than we managed the previous night even though we didn't win enough races.“It is obviously disappointing to lose heavily on successive nights given how good our away record has been this season, but it is a tough time for us with riders coming back from injury and another having call it a day.”Sheffield could still finish second themselves after securing a 47-43 win at Redcar for their fifth victory on the road this season.The Tigers struck decisive 5-1s in heats 13 and 14 to ensure they followed up their 50-40 triumph at Owlerton 24 hours earlier with another hard-fought win.Guest Richard Lawson starred with a 14-point haul, whilst Nicolai Klindt and Josh Bates combined for what proved a match-winning 5-1 in the penultimate race.Klindt said: “It was a really good result. It was a tight meeting all the way through, and again Redcar pushed us really hard like they did on Thursday, but we had a good couple of 5-1s towards the end which managed to give us the win.“They had a couple of refereeing decisions go their way, but we still dug deep and managed to get over the line in the end. We were fortunate to have a great guest in Richard Lawson, who only dropped one point, but we all worked hard to come out on top and it was a great win in the end.”In the City Gearboxes National League, Coventry remain fourth but only one half of their double header was completed due to a crash involving skipper Dan Greenwood in their match with Mildenhall.The Storm had beaten Kent 46-42 in the first fixture of the evening, but Greenwood crashed heavily in Heat 6 against the Fen Tigers and lengthy medical attention was required before he was taken to hospital with concussion and for further checks.Meanwhile King’s Lynn moved into fifth place with a 54-38 win over Rye House at the Adrian Flux Arena.
(SPEEDWAY 2 - SATURDAY PREVIEW)
FORMER Berwick No.1 Ben Barker will make a guest appearance for his old club when they face Workington in the Premier League on Saturday.Barker started the season at Shielfield Park before being injured in the British Final and subsequently joined Peterborough, but he comes in for the Bandits to replace Thomas Jorgensen who was hurt in Denmark in midweek.Ryan Fisher also comes in to bolster the Bandits against a Comets side who urgently need points on the road to maintain a play-off challenge.Berwick co-promoter Dennis McCleary said: “If Ben didn't make his plans too clear in his interview when he was here for the Sheffield match, he'll no doubt be able to clarify matters with Dick Barrie on the radio mike on Saturday.“But I know George Hepburn has talked things over with Ben, who really wants to come up on Saturday, explain his situation to his many fans in Berwick and especially to make amends by scoring a barrow-load of points and helping us see off the Comets.”In the City Gearboxes National League, Eastbourne will be looking to close in further on leaders Birmingham when they host Mildenhall at Arlington.Recent signing Daniel Spiller misses the match due to a commitment for his German club, and No.8 Niall Strudwick comes in.Eagles boss Glenn Martin said: “We are not feeling any pressure at all. It is Birmingham whose form has dipped. They have now lost four on the trot and we are totally focussed on catching them.“Our tails are well and truly up after a great run at Arlington and two superb victories on the road at Rye House and Kent. We are in a confident mood and I’m looking for more solid team performances, which is what we have been putting in of late.”Fellow challengers Cradley race away at Rye House, needing a string of victories to keep themselves in contention.The Heathens will be without Matt Williamson due to a Premier League clash with Workington, with Kent man Danny Ayres drafted in as a guest, whilst rider replacement also continues to fill the void of Nathan Greaves, and Luke Harris lines up alongside Arron Mogridge at reserve despite his high-speed crash against King's Lynn. Luke Chessell continues to miss out for the Raiders due to work commitments.Cradley boss Will Pottinger said: “There is plenty still to play for this season, and we just have to keep approaching every meeting in a positive manner to finish as strongly as possible. “It's going to be tough, Rye House is a tricky place to go, but we'll be going there with a positive frame of mind looking for a win.”Elsewhere Stoke host King’s Lynn with both teams still chasing a place in the top four.The home side are unchanged whilst Darryl Ritchings steps in to guest for the Young Stars at No.1 in place of the injured Jake Knight, and the visitors operate rider replacement for Shane Hazelden.Stoke boss Malcolm Vasey said: “We are looking to continue our recent good home performances and really need the win on the night if our hopes for a Gold Cup spot are to be realised. “King’s Lynn may not have won on the road this season but I know Dale (Allitt) and his team will be coming here to try and take victory and we will not be taking them lightly.”
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SUNDAY’S fourth round of the British Youth Championship has been postponed.The Northside venue has been the victim of a mindless attack of vandalism, with both track and facilities receiving extensive damage.The event is therefore unable to be staged, and the series will re-commence at Redcar next Saturday.
(FIXTURES)
SATURDAY AUGUST 29:PREMIER LEAGUE: Berwick v Workington 7pmCITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Eastbourne v Mildenhall 7.30, Rye House v Cradley 7pm, Stoke v King’s Lynn 7pm
SUNDAY AUGUST 30:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Leicester 3.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Workington v Berwick 7.30TRAVEL PLUS TOURS KO CUP: Glasgow v Newcastle 1.30, Newcastle v Glasgow 8pmCITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Mildenhall v Buxton 3.30BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 4: Northside OFF
MONDAY AUGUST 31:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Lakeside 7.30, Leicester v Poole 7.30, Wolverhampton v Belle Vue 7.30PREMIER LEAGUE: Peterborough v Somerset 3pm, Rye House v Plymouth 2pm, Scunthorpe v Sheffield 3pmKENT COUNTY FOUR TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP: Kent 3pmMIDLAND DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE RIDERS’ FINAL: Scunthorpe (follows PL fixture)
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 2:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Swindon 7.30, Poole v King’s Lynn 7.30CITY GEARBOXES NATIONAL LEAGUE: Birmingham v Eastbourne 7.30, King’s Lynn v Kent 7.30
