POOLE boss Danny Ford admits “every race is vital” in a crunch play-off against Workington.
The business end of the Cab Direct Championship kicks off tonight with BSN’s unique simultaneous live coverage of both semi-finals.
Both first legs at Wimborne Road and Cowley will be brought to viewers with the aim of alternate races from each meeting.
The Pirates have been boosted by the news that their successful mid-season signing Vinnie Foord is fit to resume at reserve after a month out with a shoulder injury.
Ford said: “Obviously, the goal on Wednesday will be to build up a decent lead to take into Saturday’s second leg as that will put more pressure on Workington.
“We know we have the riders capable of going to the GT Tyres Arena and doing a job but the more points we can have in the bank the better.
“September is going to be a vital month for the club and every race is going to be a vital one.”
The Comets bring in three guest riders due to injuries for Craig Cook, Claus Vissing and Tate Zischke.
Lewis Kerr, Jason Edwards and Leon Flint all step in for the Cumbrian side who will be looking to stay in the tie ahead of the return fixture at the GT Tyres Arena on Saturday.
Comets boss James Denham said: “The lads are really up for it. They’re high on confidence after last weekend’s win over Plymouth and over the 30 heats home and away, anything can happen.
“Once again I think we have got some fantastic guests to cover for injuries, but we really need a solid one-to-seven performance on Wednesday night.
“A big aspect down there is getting out of the starts. It’s something we haven’t really mastered on previous visits, but if we nail them it will be a lot easier from there.”
OXFORD will again be without injured duo Jordan Jenkins and Cameron Heeps when they host Scunthorpe in the first leg of their Cab Direct Championship play-off semi-final tonight.
Both riders suffered falls in the closing stages of last week’s Cup win over Redcar, and the Cheetahs have elected to operate rider replacement for Heeps with Joe Thompson coming in to guest for Jenkins.
Connor Coles also guests at reserve for the hosts in what has been a long-term injury position first affecting Henry Atkins and then his replacement Adam Roynon.
The Scorpions have no injury concerns and travel with a full-strength side, as they look to improve on a 20-point defeat on their previous visit to Cowley earlier this season.
Oxford manager Peter Schroeck said: “The key is to approach it like a normal meeting – my job is to make sure the lads are still enjoying themselves and having fun, while remaining focused.
“I feel we’ve got the momentum behind us, and we kept that up by overcoming early misfortune to push Glasgow all the way in Scotland.
“Scunthorpe are a good side and it won’t be easy, but we know that we can do the job and get through to the Grand Final.”
Scorpions promoter Rob Godfrey said: “We will aim to keep it as close as we can at Oxford, although I don’t want to set a target.
“It’s 30 races and it’s who’s winning at the end of the 30 that matters, nothing else. It’s not just about the first leg scoreline.
“We’ll be confident, Oxford will be confident, there’s going to be a winner and there’s going to be a loser, that’s sport, so bring it on.”
POOLE: Richard Lawson, Sam Hagon, Ben Cook, Zach Cook, Tom Brennan, Tobias Thomsen, Vinnie Foord.
WORKINGTON: Lewis Kerr, Jason Edwards, Antti Vuolas, Leon Flint, Troy Batchelor, Sam McGurk, Paul Starke.
OXFORD: Sam Masters, Joe Thompson, Cameron Heeps r/r, Ashton Boughen, Scott Nicholls, Luke Killeen, Connor Coles.
SCUNTHORPE: Michael Palm Toft, Connor Mountain, Simon Lambert, Jake Allen, Kyle Howarth, Nathan Ablitt, Luke Harrison.
Stream live here
Words by Holeshot Media.
Images by Taylor Lanning.