(SPEEDWAY 1)
SWINDON boss Alun Rossiter says his side are desperate to get their 2016 home Elite League campaign off to a flying start on Thursday.The Robins suffered a heavy 61-31 defeat at reigning Champions Poole last week in a season opener to forget, and they now take on Coventry, who beat Leicester 49-41 in their opener.Coventry make two changes with their former No.1 Hans Andersen making a guest appearance for Krzysztof Kasprzak, who has a commitment in Poland, whilst Adam Ellis comes in for Josh Bates who is racing for Sheffield.Rossiter said: “Everyone was very disappointed with our performance on Friday but that’s behind us now and we have to look towards the rest of the season.“We certainly need to improve and we will need to be much better away from the tapes against Coventry. I want to see a good show of character from the boys and a good response by picking up a solid home win.”Coventry promoter Mick Horton said: “I do think we’ve got a chance of getting something there. It’s going to be difficult, but our objective will be to get at least a point from the meeting.“I’m confident that our heat-leaders are going to do well, so it’s going to come down to the second-strings and reserves. If some of them can pick their game up a bit, we’ll get something.”Meanwhile King’s Lynn boss Rob Lyon says if his team match the performance they showed against Lakeside when Belle Vue visit the Adrian Flux Arena on Thursday, more league points will follow.The Stars defeated the Hammers 51-39 on Good Friday having lost the reverse fixture at Purfleet, and now they face an Aces side who will be going into action for the first time this season.Lyon said: “Belle Vue also haven’t been traditionally good visitors to the Adrian Flux Arena, but in the past year or so they have strengthened their team and have proved to be difficult opponents for us.“Our work is cut out, but we need to perform the way we did on Friday. At the end of the day, it’s our track, our venue and we need to take advantage of that and we should be looking at another three points on the board. I don’t see any reason why we can’t do that.”Belle Vue manager Mark Lemon said: “King’s Lynn have a pretty solid team. There’s some great opposition but also a couple of weak links. It’s definitely not a meeting where you could easily predict the outcome.“I’m sure they’ll want to hit us pretty hard because we knocked them out of the play off chase last year so there’s no doubt they’ll feel aggrieved and want revenge, but we’re ready for the challenge.”
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SKIPPER Simon Stead admits “it’s been a long time coming!” ahead of his long-awaited Owlerton return as Sheffield host Peterborough on Thursday.The Tigers hero has not appeared for the club since his horrific crash at Rye House in April 2015, with his comeback further delayed by concussion suffered in the Ben Fund Bonanza last month.Stead returns for the League Cup clash with the Panthers, with Ricky Wells standing in as heat-leader cover for Jason Garrity who has an Elite League commitment with Coventry.Stead said: “I can't wait - it's definitely been a long time coming! I'm feeling good and ready both physically and mentally, and I know I've done everything I can so far to make sure I hit the ground running.“Peterborough will no doubt give us a tough test, but I'm sure if everyone pulls together and does their bit we can come away with another win.”Panthers boss Carl Johnson, meanwhile, wants to see his side make a fast start in their first team meeting of the season, with the League Cup group set to be closely contested.Johnson said: “We learned to our cost last season that a couple of defeats are very costly in this competition. This year it is even harder to qualify for the semi-finals with more groups and fewer meetings so every point really does count.“Sheffield look to be a strong side, but we are going there with the intention of getting a result before aiming to start as we mean to go on at home against Scunthorpe the following night.”Meanwhile North-East rivals Redcar and Newcastle clash in the first leg of the Tyne/Tees Trophy at the Media Prime Arena.The two clubs were in the news over the winter with the protracted transfer of Matej Kus to the Diamonds, and he lines up on his old home track tonight.The visitors do make changes, though, with Tero Aarnio injured and Robert Lambert, Steve Worrall and Lewis Rose all on Elite League duty. Stuart Robson, Theo Pijper and Liam Carr have been booked as guests.Redcar boss Jitendra Duffill said: “The Bears and myself are hungry for another victory and we are all confident that we can do that. “I was very pleased to see all seven members of our side working really well together last week and team spirit is good. That will go a long way and I'd like to see a contribution from the whole team again on Thursday.”Newcastle boss George English said: “We know that we will be up against it with having so many of our normal riders missing. “We hope to keep the scores close and put in a good performance before the second leg on Sunday and doing the business at Brough Park.”
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IPSWICH have been boosted by the news that Morten Risager will return for Saturday’s home clash with Sheffield.The Dane suffered a broken second metatarsal in his right foot on opening night against Scunthorpe and missed the return fixture, but has declared himself fit after treatment in his home country.Witches boss Ritchie Hawkins said: “It's not been ideal having such a big break between meetings for us but it will be good to have Morten back in the team.“Looking at the season as a whole though, we are just looking for a big improvement from our last home meeting with Scunthorpe.”(FIXTURES)
THURSDAY MARCH 31:ELITE LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Belle Vue 7.30, Swindon v Coventry 7.30LEAGUE CUP: Sheffield v Peterborough 7.30TYNE/TEES TROPHY 1st leg: Redcar v Newcastle 7.30
FRIDAY APRIL 1:ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Wolverhampton 7.30, Lakeside v Leicester 8pmLEAGUE CUP: Peterborough v Scunthorpe 7.30TRICENNIAL TROPHY: Edinburgh v Belle Vue 7.30CHALLENGE: Somerset Select v Plymouth Select 7.30
SATURDAY APRIL 2: ELITE LEAGUE: Leicester v Lakeside 7.30 LEAGUE CUP: Ipswich v Sheffield 7.30TWEED/TEES TROPHY 2nd leg: Berwick v Redcar 7pm
SUNDAY APRIL 3:LEAGUE CUP: Glasgow v Edinburgh 3pm, Rye House v Somerset 3pmTRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Rye House v Kent (follows LC fixture)TYNE/TEES TROPHY 2nd leg: Newcastle v Redcar 6.30BORDER TROPHY 2nd leg: Workington v Berwick 7.30FENLAND FOURS: Mildenhall 3.30
