Title Partner
PREVIEW Friday 23rd October 2009, 12:00pm
Edinburgh Monarchs
Well here we go again as, for the third time in five weeks, King's Lynn are the visitors to Armadale on Friday. This time it's for the first leg of the final of the Premier League Knockout Cup, the one trophy we didn't win last year. Again we are looking for the biggest lead possible to take back down to the Norfolk Arena next Wednesday.
So what's new this time? First of all there's the brilliant performances at home last week in the Play Off final then the return match on Tuesday which saw the team win through with 14 points to spare on aggregate. Confidence is high that we can do it again at home on Friday and next Wednesday down south but is it misplaced? For these matches the King's Lynn team will be changed. With Tomas Topinka and Kozza Smith still sidelined with injuries, this time the Stars revert to using Rider Replacement for Kozza Smith at number 2 rather than for Topinka while Darcy Ward is scheduled to take his place in the side again following his absences last week. We don't know yet who will guest for Topinka but with over 9 points to play with we can be sure that it will be a top rider from the Premier League or a sub 5 point average rider from the Elite League.
On Tuesday night the Stars used Ulrich Ostergaard for the absent Darcy Ward. He would have been ineligible for this match under the eight day (or is it 180 hour?) rule since he is due to appear on Saturday to ride for Belle Vue Aces. For Topinka, King's Lynn have used Ty Proctor as a guest on a number of occasions so maybe he'll be here in his place again although, if that were the case, it would be reasonable to assume he would have been listed in the team sheet given to the Edinburgh promotion for this match. So maybe they have someone else in mind. All will be revealed!
The Cup is second only to the league in most fans' minds in order of importance for the silverware up for grabs and it would be a fine and fitting end to our Premier League season if we could win it. The team know they can do it and have had plenty of practice on the Stars' circuit to know what to expect next Wednesday. However, even without their two missing riders, King's Lynn are still a formidable side and must not be treated lightly. They too have had plenty of practice at Armadale and will be even more determined to win the trophy after losing the Play Off final.
One small fly in the ointment for us is the injury to Michal Rajkowski who crashed on the last bend in heat 8 at King's Lynn, while on a 1-5 with Kalle Katajisto, injuring his ankle in the process. It was at first thought he might have broken it but that now appears not to have been the case although it is badly swollen. If Michal has not recovered sufficiently to take his place on Friday then we will need to use Rider Replacement instead. With only Matthew, Aaron and Kalle eligible to replace him it will put added pressure on the side if Michal doesn't make it. We would certainly miss his electric starts which bring him so many race wins.
The big difference between the Cup competition and the others is that tactical rides are not allowed. Losing teams can use 'tactical gates' on two occasions when they can choose from which of the four gates their riders start. Without tactical rides the losing team doesn't have the same opportunity to stop the momentum of a team on a roll of heat advantages and it points to the need for a bigger lead to take for the second leg where the additonal six points will not be on offer. Last week we managed a twenty point lead and that turned out to be more than enough so that must be the minimum target for Friday's match.
It won't be easy but with the team on a roll and Kalle Katajisto bringing some much needed punch at reserve we are well placed. Every point will be crucial. King's Lynn will be well aware of that and much will depend on how well their guest scores. While William Lawson scored well for them last week they might have been disappointed that Josh Auty didn't match the sort of scores he turned in for Sheffield on their visits to the Scotwaste Arena. We can be sure that they will have chosen carefully. Rider Replacement for Kozza Smith at number 2 for the Stars' allows Emiliano Sanchez and the two reserves, Linus Eklof and Jan Graversen, extra rides. Sanchez has swopped places in their side for this match with Sanchez riding at number 3 and Chris Schramm at number 4. This means that the stronger Schramm will appear in heat 14 switching from heat 12 with Sanchez now in heat 12 rather than 14.
We would do well to remember the damage that Linus Eklof caused at reserve in the Premier Trophy final although he was far more subdued last week. Jan Graversen has yet to record a big score at Armadale but is one of the league's strongest reserves while Sanchez seems to have gone off the boil a bit. Assuming that Darcy Ward is fit enough to resume, the Stars look to be a stronger side than the one that lost to us last week so let's see if we can up our performance and leave ourselves with as little as possible to do in the second leg.
Once again here's hoping for a cracking match with all of the riders emerging injury-free.
Teams: Edinburgh: Ryan Fisher, Michal Rajkowski, Andrew Tully, Matthew Wethers (captain), Kevin Wolbert, Aaron Summers and Kalle Katajisto.
King's Lynn: Darcy Ward, Rider Replacement for Kozza Smith, Emiliano Sanchez, Chris Schramm, Guest for Tomas Topinka, Linus Eklof and Jan Graversen.
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Bathgate Road
Armadale
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