(SPEEDWAY 1)
WOLVERHAMPTON are targeting the biggest turnaround in play-off history when they host Poole in the second leg of the Elite League semi-finals on Monday.The Pirates lead 51-39 from last week’s clash at Wimborne Road, but the home side believe their strong Monmore form can eradicate that deficit.Poole have announced Bjarne Pedersen has been ruled out of the meeting with a knee injury, with Rohan Tungate booked to guest.Wolves star Jacob Thorssell said: “Obviously we wanted it to be closer but we have to believe that we can beat them by more than 12.“It's important we stay positive and we need to do what they did to us and get some 5-1's or 4-2's in the first six races and make them nervous.“Poole showed they can run us close a few weeks ago, but we also showed earlier in the year that we're capable of beating them comfortably if we can make some good starts.“We had a big chat as a team in the dressing room on Wednesday and we're not ready to pack up for the season just yet!”Poole promoter Matt Ford said: “This semi-final has a way to go yet. You can be certain that they will be making things as difficult as possible for us. “It is not a track that suits all our riders but we have to put those thoughts out of our mind and deal with it. We have seen some indifferent performances around there from some of our lads, now is the time to step up and put any demons behind us.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
BELLE Vue are looking to secure qualification for a second successive Grand Final when they host Lakeside on Monday.The Aces reeled off three late 5-1s at Purfleet last week to put themselves into a commanding position with an eight-point lead as they head back to the National Speedway Stadium.With Andreas Jonsson not fit to resume for the Hammers, Chris Harris comes in as a guest, whilst Robert Branford takes the place of Ben Morley at reserve.Belle Vue star Steve Worrall said: “We’re not going into this thinking it’s going to be easy. Nothing is set in stone and I’m sure the Lakeside boys felt that having established their lead at home they just had to keep us at bay.“But of course we came on strong towards the end to really turn things around and there’s nothing to suggest they won’t do the same to us. There’s no room for complacency in the play-offs.“We’re going to approach this as we would any other meeting and provided we knuckle down and keep cool, hopefully we can finish the job and see ourselves through to the Grand Final.”Lakeside skipper Richard Lawson said: “The pressure is off for us really, so we'll just give it our best and see what we can do on the night. “We're already behind so it will certainly be extremely tough, but we'll definitely give it all we've got from start to finish.“The first leg was tough but it's a new meeting. There's nothing we can do about it now so we'll have to put that behind us.“There's no under-estimating the task we have in front of us, but if we can get some points back early on and we all ride well then you never know.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
ROBERT Lambert and Steve Worrall both scored maximums as Newcastle collected a commanding 61-31 win over Scunthorpe at Brough Park.Lambert reeled off five straight wins as he warms up for his World Under-21 title chase next weekend, and Worrall collected 13+2 – and with Matej Kus adding 10 and Ludvig Lindgren 9+1, the Diamonds took all fifteen race winners.Michael Palm Toft top-scored for the Scorpions with 9+1, but Fritz Wallner crashed out in his third ride and sustained a possible broken ankle.Newcastle boss George English said: “It was a good run-out for the lads with Robert looking sharper that he has all season.“With his World Under-21 bid coming up at the weekend, then he's hit form at just the right time, as he has for us with the play-offs and Knockout Cup conclusions all approaching over the next few weeks. We're a side ready to take on the challenge!”Scunthorpe boss Dave Peet said: “Fritz went into the corner all wrong and lost control. I hope he’s avoided breaking his ankle, while if it is broken, I wish him a speedy recovery. He’s got the winter to get fit and strong again.“It was the usual uphill battle for us at Newcastle. We didn’t seem to start that badly, but we struggled to keep up with the changes to the track. We battled away, but couldn’t stop them from pulling away.”In the Travel Plus National League, Buxton finally gained their first home win of the season with a 52-38 victory over Eastbourne, led by 10+3 from Shelby Rutherford.A challenge match at West Row saw Mildenhall defeat an NL Select side 40-38 over thirteen races, whilst Danny Ayres won the Bernie Klatt Memorial event which formed the second-half.Fen Tigers promoter Kevin Jolly said: “Today was old-style speedway entertainment and I would like to thank all the riders for their efforts, they certainly put on a show and it was a fine way to end the season. “Overall it has been a good year and without our unfortunate injuries it could have been so much better, we will look forward to 2017 with renewed optimism.”(FIXTURES)
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 26:ELITE LEAGUE PLAY-OFF S/F 2nd leg: Belle Vue v Lakeside 7.30, Wolverhampton v Poole 7.30
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 27:NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP S/F 1st leg: Cradley v Eastbourne 7.30
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 28:TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAY-OFF S/F 1st leg: Birmingham v Cradley 7.30
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 29:PREMIER LEAGUE PLAY-OFF Q/F 1st leg: Sheffield v Newcastle 7.30CHALLENGE: Redcar Cubs v Buxton 7.30
