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SOMERSET booked their place in the Premier League Grand Final with a convincing 24-point aggregate victory over Ipswich.The Rebels took a 53-37 advantage into Thursday’s second leg and prevented the Witches from building momentum at Foxhall, despite home skipper Danny King breaking the track record in Heat 1.Ipswich clawed back four points overall going into the final third of the meeting but Somerset finished strongly and took a 49-41 win on the night.Former Witches rider Rohan Tungate led the charge on 13+1 with Charles Wright adding 11, whilst Nico Covatti top-scored for Ipswich on 10+1.Somerset boss Garry May said: “We had a game plan to keep things tight early on to deny Ipswich the chance to get a foothold in the match, and the plan worked a treat.“Once we got to the halfway stage with Ipswich having made little impression on our first leg lead, you could see the belief drain away from their riders, and with them a virtually beaten side, we hit them hard over the final six heats to cap a brilliant night by taking the meeting victory as well as booking our place in the Grand Final.”Ipswich manager Ritchie Hawkins said: “We didn't get off to a good enough start tonight to pull the points back, and then when we couldn't get through on aggregate everyone's heads dropped and made the result look worse than it was. “We have done well to get here and were beaten by the better team. If we had started the season well we probably wouldn't have had such a good team as we do now, and we still would have been beaten by Somerset as they were better than us.”The Rebels will now face the winners of the Sheffield/Glasgow semi, which has yet to get underway as Thursday’s scheduled first leg was postponed.
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THE second leg of the League Cup Final takes place at the Oaktree Arena on Friday as Somerset host Glasgow.The Rebels are favourites for the silverware having raced to a 48-42 win in Scotland last weekend.But home boss Garry May expects a backlash from the Tigers in the return fixture – and Glasgow manager Stewart Dickson insists his team are still in the tie.May said: “Although some people might like to think we have one hand on the League Cup, nothing is won yet and so we will be taking nothing for granted come Friday’s second leg.“Glasgow are a quality side and will come at us with all guns blazing, so I would like all the Somerset fans out there to make sure that they are at the Oaktree Arena and get right behind the boys.”Dickson said: “We will go down there and give it our best shot. I’m not going to be daft – I know it’s going to be tough, but we’re still in the hunt for three trophies the way it stands now. Obviously, though, they’re favourites.“I hope to see a reaction from the team in the next few meetings. It’s the eight of us together and I’m pretty sure we’ll get it back on course.“Do they have the character? I would like to think so – in fact, I definitely think they do have. The guys are hurting.”In the Travel Plus National League, Belle Vue boss Graham Goodwin is urging his team to finish on a high despite their failure to reach the play-offs.The Colts host King’s Lynn at the National Speedway Stadium, with Rob Shuttleworth making his return from injury, although rider-replacement is in operation for the still-sidelined Dan Bewley.Goodwin said: “We can’t be too disappointed with our season, despite the later frustrations of our schedule. It would have been nice to get all our matches in (before the cut-off) but sadly we didn’t.“We’ve achieved an awful lot in the months since we first began racing. Yes, we had a few teething problems early doors but for me the boys can look back at our National League return with pride.”
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POOLE promoter Matt Ford says performances in Friday’s Blue Riband could give him food for thought as he makes plans for the 2017 season.The Pirates bring down the curtain on the season with the individual event at Wimborne Road featuring a host of past and present Poole riders and some new faces to UK racing.Ford said: “I have a relatively clean sheet of paper as far as the team construction plans are concerned for next year and apart from a couple of riders from this year's team I am keeping my options open at this stage. “Friday's Blue Riband could sway my judgement depending on what we see on show. I am sure there will be a number of riders going out to impress and that all bodes well for a good, competitive and exciting meeting.”
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PETERBOROUGH have announced they will race home meeting almost exclusively on Sundays during the 2017 season.Panthers promoter Ged Rathbone has revealed the popular 5pm slot will be used whenever possible.Rathbone said: “We'll be racing on Sundays as often as we possibly can.“Crowd figures during the past couple of seasons tell us that is the popular slot with supporters - and I also feel we attract more away fans on Sundays than when racing in the evening.“The traditional Friday-night slot just doesn't seem to have worked for us.”
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FRIDAY OCTOBER 14:LEAGUE CUP FINAL 2nd leg: Somerset v Glasgow 7.30TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: Belle Vue v King’s Lynn 7.30BLUE RIBAND: Poole 7.30
SATURDAY OCTOBER 15:NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP S/F 2nd leg: Eastbourne v Cradley 7.30NATIONAL TROPHY: Stoke v Buxton 7pm
SUNDAY OCTOBER 16:PREMIER LEAGUE PLAY-OFF S/F 2nd leg: Glasgow v Sheffield 3pmNATIONAL LEAGUE PAIRS, King’s Lynn 3.30
