Tomorrow the Rapid Solicitors Lions have a double date with near neighbours the Coventry Bees when first of all they travel to the Brandon Stadium for an afternoon start-time of 2.00 pm and then the two clubs meet in the return fixture at Leicester in the evening which will begin at 7.30 pm.
Last season Coventry ended up rock bottom of the Elite League, their worst finish since the same happened in 2004. Promoter Mick Horton vowed that this year would be different and he elected to rebuild the team and so far his promise has come true as the Bees are back amongst the title challengers and building momentum towards a place in the final and a fourth championship pennant since the Elite League was launched eighteen years ago.
“We gained our first away point of the season at Coventry back in April and I genuinely think that there is every reason to believe that we can at least equal that performance this time around. Coventry’s vulnerability at Brandon has been breached twice already this season so it is also possible that we can catch them on an off-day as well. Their record on the road is impressive, a fact that has not escaped us and we have to guard against a repeat of their win at Leicester earlier in the season. A win is a must for Coventry to consolidate their position in the title race but we will be very keen to gain our first league win against them. We are without Krzysztof Buczkowski and Nicolai Klindt but with the two guest riders we have to replace them I hope that we can put on a good show for our fans at Brandon” stated the Lions Team Manager, Norrie Allan.
Sam Masters, a former teammate of Jason Doyle when they rode together at Somerset, takes the place of Nicolai Klindt at Coventry and Craig Cook who scored heavily for Poole in Saturday’s draw against the Lions replaces Buczkowski. For the return match at Leicester, the King’s Lynn captain Rory Schlein, replaces Cook at number five. Meanwhile Klindt, who broke his scaphoid during the week, is planning to ride for his Polish club tonight and if he comes through that without ill effects he is hoping to take his place in the return fixture at the Jordan Road Surfacing Stadium.
“All being well Nicolai will be back with us tomorrow but there is a slight concern as he is due to ride for Scunthorpe, his Premier League club, at home which starts at 3.00 pm. He then has to dash from the match which should finish around 5.00 pm to Leicester in time for the return fixture against Coventry. That is a tight schedule because if there is any lengthy delay in the meeting at Scunthorpe then he is not going to make it so Sam Masters has agreed to be on standby after he has ridden for us at Coventry in the afternoon” explained Allan.
Teams for Coventry (2.00 pm start time)
Coventry: 1. Hans Andersen, 2. Kyle Howarth, 3. Michael Jepsen Jensen, 4. Kenneth Hansen, 5. Chris Harris, 6. Jason Garrity and 7. James Sarjeant
Leicester: 1. Jason Doyle, 2. Simon Stead, 3. Mads Korneliussen, 4. Sam Masters, 5. Craig Cook 6. Josh Bates and 7. Max Clegg
Teams for Leicester (7.30 pm start time)
Leicester: 1. Jason Doyle, 2. Simon Stead, 3. Mads Korneliussen, 4. Nicolai Klindt or Sam Masters, 5. Rory Schlein, 6. Josh Bates and 7. Max Clegg
Coventry: 1. Hans Andersen, 2. Kyle Howarth, 3. Michael Jepsen Jensen, 4. Kenneth Hansen, 5. Chris Harris, 6. Jason Garrity and 7. James Sarjeant.
