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EASTBOURNE demolished Cradley 62-27 to set up a place in the National League KO Cup Final.The Eagles led 46-44 from their win at Monmore last month and reeled off three 5-1s in the first three races at Arlington to effectively put the tie beyond the Heathens, in a meeting delayed by an hour due to heavy rain.Georgie Wood scored 13+3 for the Eagles with Adam Ellis adding 13, reserve Tom Brennan 10+4 and Ellis Perks 10+1 in a powerful display, whilst Max Clegg’s score of 13 accounted for nearly half of the Heathens’ points on the night.Eastbourne boss Connor Dugard said: “It was another brilliant result. We got the job done pretty quickly with a powerful start which totally overwhelmed Cradley.“The Eagles showed they can ride here on any track surface.”Clegg said: “It was a good night for myself, but it’s a bit frustrating for the team to lose so heavily.“We knew it was going to be tough but I don’t think we expected it to be that tough. Eastbourne were just a much better team than us and we can’t really have any complaints about the result.”The Eagles will face Birmingham in the Final and will travel to Perry Barr for the first leg on Wednesday.Meanwhile Stoke completed their National Trophy campaign with a 55-35 win over Buxton in the final group fixture.Guest Mitchell Davey raced to a 15-point maximum for the Potters with Tony Atkin also unbeaten from four rides, whilst Danny Phillips added 11+2.Stoke boss Malcolm Vasey said: “That was a convincing performance from the team, we were comfortable throughout and it’s always good to get the better of Buxton with the local rivalry.“I’d like to thank Mitchell for such a superb performance as a guest, and I’m delighted with the overall display, with two riders unbeaten.”(SPEEDWAY 2)
GLASGOW star Richard Lawson says his side are “massively determined” to book a Premier League Grand Final clash with Somerset.The Ashfield men lost out to the Rebels in the League Cup Final and now face Sheffield in their play-off semi, with the first leg on home territory on Sunday.The visitors overcame Newcastle in the quarter-finals when they were underdogs, and are targeting another upset with Ricky Wells and Theo Pijper named as guests.Lawson said: “Obviously we want to win all the trophies, but the League Cup is gone now.“We need to forget about it and use it to get us fired up. We're still in for a shout with the other two and hopefully we can turn things around.“It would be great to see everyone there and I'm sure all seven of us are massively determined to put this right, take it to the next stage and get into the play-off final.”Sheffield co-promoter Peter Mole said: “The Glasgow meeting is going to be very hard because they are a tough team at their home place.“They’ve not lost many meetings there, I think they’ve only been beaten by Somerset, so we know how difficult it will be.“We’ll just be going to keep the scores as close as possible and give ourselves the best chance to get through in the home leg.”
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KING’S Lynn are gearing up for a huge afternoon of action as they host the showpiece National League Pairs Championship at the Adrian Flux Arena on Sunday.The top riders in the third tier will battle for major silverware in the popular event, which was originally postponed due to rain on August 27.Elite League title winner Max Clegg, former Stars man Ashley Morris (both Cradley) plus talented Poole reserve Adam Ellis (Eastbourne) will be amongst those in action.King’s Lynn co-promoter Dale Allitt said: “These meetings always tend to give you plenty of good racing. It was very competitive last year, and again when you look at the line-up there is no reason this year will be any different.“We’re pleased to be hosting this event again, and I’m sure all 10 teams will be giving it their all to try and get some silverware with the end of the season approaching.” Admission has been priced at £15 for adults and £4 for juniors.NATIONAL LEAGUE PAIRS CHAMPIONSHIP LINE-UP: GROUP A:CRADLEY: Ashley Morris & Max Clegg.EASTBOURNE: Adam Ellis & Jake Knight.ISLE OF WIGHT: Mark Baseby & Chris Widman. KING'S LYNN: Scott Campos & Ryan Kinsley.MILDENHALL: Jon Armstrong & Danny Halsey.GROUP B:BELLE VUE: Matt Williamson & Rob Shuttleworth.BIRMINGHAM: Tom Perry & Jack Smith.KENT: Luke Bowen & Jack Thomas.RYE HOUSE: Ben Morley & Robert Branford.STOKE: Danny Phillips & Chris Hay.
(FIXTURES)
SUNDAY OCTOBER 16:PREMIER LEAGUE PLAY-OFF S/F 2nd leg: Glasgow v Sheffield 3pmNATIONAL LEAGUE PAIRS, King’s Lynn 3.30
MONDAY OCTOBER 17:KING OF KENT: Kent 6.30
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 19:PREMIER LEAGUE PLAY-OFF S/F 2nd leg: Sheffield v Glasgow 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP FINAL 1st leg: Birmingham v Eastbourne 7.30