(SPEEDWAY 1 - FRIDAY REVIEW)
COVENTRY and Poole shared the spoils with an absorbing 45-45 draw in the first leg of their Elite League play-off semi-final at Brandon.The Pirates appeared to have taken control of a nip-and-tuck encounter with three 5-1s in the space of five heats to go into a 43-35 lead with two races to go.But the Bees hit back with 5-1s in the last two heats from Hans Andersen and Danny King to leave the tie all-square heading to Wimborne Road on Monday.Andersen, with 13+1, dropped just one point for the Bees whilst skipper Maciej Janowski scored 10+1 for the Pirates.Coventry boss Gary Havelock said: “I’m sure people thought we were dead and buried after Heat 13, but it just shows the spirit in the camp to go out and get two 5-1s like we did - and if nothing else, that gives Poole something to think about.“We pulled it back to get a draw, and it’s all on now. We’ve got to go there with belief, and give it to them. It’s now a one-meeting dash, and we’ve got to try to hit them hard.“The best thing about tonight was the form of Hans, he was absolutely sensational and we need him riding like that at Poole as well if we’re going to have a chance there.”Pirates manager Neil Middleditch said: “It would have been nice to have won and we had the chance there, but this was tough battle and you had to expect Coventry not to just lay down and let us run away with it. “They came back strong and if you had offered me a draw before we arrived tonight I would have said thank you very much. “There's a lot to ride for on our home patch now, we start all square and have 15 heats to do a job over them. We could have been in a much worse position.”Edinburgh rounded off their regular Premier League campaign with a 61-32 win over Berwick at Armadale - although after eight races, the gap was just three points.The Monarchs, however, dropped only one point in the remaining seven heats to move six points clear at the top of the table as they await their play-off semi-final opposition.Edinburgh boss Alex Harkess said: “I didn’t feel we were at our best but the reserves did well with Max Clegg outstanding.”
(SPEEDWAY 2 - SATURDAY PREVIEW)
RYE House Raiders manager John Sampford says his team have nothing to fear when they face Eastbourne in the Gold Cup semi-finals.The Raiders host the Eagles at Hoddesdon in Saturday’s first leg, with the sides also due to meet in the National Trophy Final next month.Sampford said: “Eastbourne have had a great season, but we’re more than ready for the challenge.“The boys have worked really hard to get to this stage, and they’ve turned more than a few heads in the process. They’ve always believed in themselves, and they’ve really grown in the second half of the year as the younger talent has come through.“They’ve beaten Birmingham and Cradley here in the League, and the Eagles in the Trophy, so there’s already so much to build on. Now it’s all about the next thirty heats, and keeping that momentum going.”Eagles boss Glenn Martin said: “We have won three out of four against Rye House this season but they have had a strong run recently.“Their No 1 Robert Branford is up at the top of the National League points scorers along with our own Bradley Wilson-Dean and Birmingham’s Adam Ellis.“Their back-up riders will be a threat both home and away. We cannot afford to be complacent. We were in superb form last weekend and we just have to keep that going to secure a Gold Cup final place.”
(FIXTURES)
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 19:GOLD CUP S/F 1st leg: Rye House v Eastbourne 7pm
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 20: GOLD CUP S/F 2nd leg: Eastbourne v Rye House 2pmBRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 5: Rye House 5pm
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 21:ELITE LEAGUE PLAY-OFFS S/F 2nd leg: Poole v Coventry 7.30, Swindon v Belle Vue 7.30SILVER SKI HOLIDAYS CHAMPIONSHIP: Kent 6.30
