POOLE boss Danny Ford says his side are in for a “stern test” against Scunthorpe.
The Cab Direct Championship top two clash at Wimborne Road tonight, live on BSN.
The Pirates remain effectively unbeaten in the league with their only dropped point coming in a Super Heat defeat at Oxford, and they are four points clear of the Scorpions, who have bounced back well from a heavy defeat in Dorset a fortnight ago.
The hosts bring in Ben Trigger at reserve to guest for Vinnie Foord, who is out with a shoulder injury, whilst Sam Hagon moves up into the top five with Tobias Thomsen going to reserve.
The Scorpions name a full-strength line-up and will host the Pirates in the return fixture on Friday.
Pirates promoter Dan Ford said: “We are aiming to hold on to our place at the top of the table which we have worked so hard to get to, and there is a favourable air of determination within the side to go one better than last year and not buckle in the final weeks of the season.
“Looking at our next two meetings it is unquestionably a case of being in for a stern test.
“Some will look back at our recent hosting of Scunthorpe in the Cab Direct KO Cup where we overcame them quite easy, but whilst that was a most satisfying result, we must not dwell too much on that as it is 15 fresh heats on Wednesday.”
Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey said: “We know that we can ride much better at Poole – we demonstrated that last season. Both sides are well on course for the play-offs and this week we want to put a seed of doubt in the minds of the Pirates. At the moment, Poole are riding high on confidence and are all laughs and smiles.
“We want to push Poole much tighter at Wimborne Road and then we’ll see what we need to do against them at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Friday. We’d love to take at least three points off the Pirates this week, including the aggregate bonus point. That would really knock Poole’s confidence and give our lads a tremendous boost.”
POOLE: Richard Lawson, Sam Hagon, Ben Cook, Zach Cook, Tom Brennan, Tobias Thomsen, Ben Trigger.
SCUNTHORPE: Michael Palm Toft, Simon Lambert, Jake Allen, Connor Mountain, Kyle Howarth, Nathan Ablitt, Luke Harrison.
Stream live here
Words by Holeshot Media.
Images by Taylor Lanning.