(SPEEDWAY 1)
GLASGOW and Newcastle head into a one-off shootout for the Premier League Knockout Cup on Monday after a 45-45 first leg draw at Brough Park.The Diamonds provided ten of the race winners on their home track but also suffered a host of falls and retirements – the most serious of which saw the withdrawal of Matej Kus after a Heat 3 accident.Robert Lambert scored 14 points from five rides and combined with Steve Worrall (10+1) for a Heat 15 5-1 to ensure a share of the spoils on the night.Richie Worrall top-scored for the Tigers with 9+1, as they were unable to hold a six-point but did ensure they would not be defeated in the first leg.Newcastle boss George English said: “We knew before the match started that this tie, including Monday at Glasgow, would go to the last heat.“If the second leg is as tight and hard fought as tonight then there's no reason we can't still nick this trophy, but we need to be right on the money and make sure we avoid the six falls we suffered tonight.”Glasgow boss Stewart Dickson said: “I'm a bit disappointed that we didn't win. We got a bit of fortune tonight and they had a lot of bad luck - and you've got to take advantage of situations like that. I don't know if we did fully take advantage.“Obviously we would've settled for that before the match but when you get the chance you've got to get as many points as possible, because you don't know what's going to happen in the second leg. That's what good teams do. “We still have a big job to do - Newcastle didn't finish third in the league for nothing. It'll not be easy, it's a cup final, and you don't get big wins in semi-finals and finals. We have to do a professional job and hope that lady luck stays on our side.”(SPEEDWAY 2)
EASTBOURNE built up a handy 13-point lead in the first leg of the National League Grand Final – leaving Birmingham with work to do in the return at Perry Barr.The Eagles won 50-37 at Arlington on Sunday despite conceding a 3-0 in an extraordinary opening race where the Brummies’ Jack Smith was the only finisher.The result was only the visitors’ second defeat of the season, and their heaviest so far, with Georgie Wood (12+1) top-scoring for the home side and Adam Ellis (12) recovering from his Heat 1 fall to post four wins.Reserve Jack Parkinson-Blackburn scored 9+1 for the Brummies, who were limited to just for victories on the night.Eastbourne chairman Martin Dugard said: “I think the two teams shared the bad luck but that’s what speedway is all about. It is about getting up and dealing with it, and that’s what the boys did.“They are the best team in the league. That’s why they have beaten everybody. I think we have shown we can match them but whether it will be good enough, only time will tell.”“If I was them I would be feeling under pressure. We are the underdogs, always have been. Everybody rates us as underdogs. We are doing well.”Birmingham boss Graham Drury said: “It's not quite what we had aimed for but this tie is far from over! “We did throw some silly points away again here and there but there's nothing we can do about that now. Eastbourne will be confident of holding on but our lads are more than capable of turning it around.“We do have a slight concern over Tom Bacon but we'll keep our eye on him over the next couple of days and it's going to be a cracking night of speedway at Perry Barr on Wednesday!”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
BUXTON ended a tough season with a 52-38 win over Rye House at the D&P Raceway on Sunday.The victory wasn’t enough to lift the Hitmen out of the National League’s basement position but it did take them into double figures.A close meeting turned the home side’s way late on with three 5-1s in the final six races, led by guests Tom Woolley (14+1) and Tony Atkin (10), with captain Ryan Blacklock also on 10. Robert Branford scored 12 for the Raiders.Buxton boss Jason Pipe said: “It’s been great to finish on a win and to give our fans something to shout about. It was a solid team performance and it’s brilliant when all the hard work pays off. “If a fan was to shadow me for just a week they wouldn’t believe the work that goes into team building, particularly when we have had the absences that we have had this term.”
(SPEEDWAY 4)
RYAN Blacklock has announced his retirement from the sport following Buxton’s final meeting of the season on Sunday.Blacklock has been a one-club man in the National League, having ridden for the Hitmen since 2012.He said: “I’ve fully enjoyed being the captain for 2016 and hope I’ve done a decent job. But sadly, I’m gutted to say this but today was my final meeting as a speedway rider. “I finished on a high with a win for the team and I won my last race which means a lot to me. “I’d just like to thank all at Buxton Speedway for sticking by me in the last five years and to all the fans and everyone who has helped me and believed in me over this time.”
(FIXTURES)
MONDAY OCTOBER 24:PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP FINAL 2nd leg: Glasgow v Newcastle 7.30
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 26:PREMIER LEAGUE GRAND FINAL 1st leg: Sheffield v Somerset 7.39TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE GRAND FINAL 2nd leg: Birmingham v Eastbourne 7.30
THURSDAY OCTOBER 27:PREMIER LEAGUE GRAND FINAL 2nd leg: Somerset v Sheffield 7.30
SUNDAY OCTOBER 30:NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP FINAL 2nd leg: Eastbourne v Birmingham 6.30
