LEADING THE WITCHES TONIGHT: Scott Nicholls
Only pride left for Witches
By Mike Bacon
Monday, August 30, 2010
11:29 AM
WITH a relegation play-off as good as starring them in the face, it’s only pride Ipswich Witches can now race for before they embark on a two-legged encounter with a Premier League team to ensure their Elite League future.
Tonight the Witches travel to Swindon, hoping to put on a better show than they did at Lakeside on Friday night, where another hammering in Essex all but put paid to the Suffolk side’s hopes of avoiding the wooden spoon.
The Witches, who are at Eastbourne on Thursday, need to beat both Swindon tonight and the Eagles, and by more than six points each time, to keep their outside chances of avoiding the bottom place alive.
But bearing in mind Ipswich haven’t won on their travels at all this season, the odds on that would be very generous indeed.
Swindon are expected to be at full strength for tonight’s meeting, with Maciek Janowski making his Blunsdon debut. Mads Korneliussen shuffles to the No.2 position, whilst Cory Gathercole and Morten Risager occupy the reserve department.
The Robins’ season has fallen apart, with a string of poor performances and rain-offs. Indeed only six weeks ago the Robins were on the verge of the play-offs. But now find their season drifting away.
For the Witches, Dawid Stachyra is expected to return after complaining of a back problem earlier last week.
He was practising for his Polish club on Saturday and was hoping to ride yesterday. If he came through that, then he should take his place at reserve for the Suffolk side.
Teams:
Swindon: Leigh Adams (C), Mads Korneliussen, Grzegorz Zengota, Maciek Janowski, Simon Stead, Cory Gathercole, Morten Risager
Ipswich: Scott Nicholls, Chris Slabon, Danny King (C), Ales Dryml, Robert Miskowiak, Dawid Stachyra, Kozza Smith
n THE Croatian Grand Prix was rained off on Saturday night, but took place yesterday morning and saw victory for American Greg Hancock. Second was Britain’s Chris Harris, with Jason Crump third.
The result was a massive boost for both Hancock and Harris, who had been floundering just outside the automatic top eight who qualify for next year’s series.
Now both have moved into the top eight which read as: 1st Tomasz Gollob - 117, 2nd Jaroslaw Hampel - 110, 3rd Jason Crump - 107, 4th Rune Holta - 82, 5th Kenneth Bjerre - 81, 6th Greg Hancock - 75, 7th Chris Holder - 73 , 8th Chris Harris - 72
4 comments
Well another rubbish performance from the rubbish team put together by the ambitionless Louis's. Losing to the team 2nd from bottom of the "elite" league by 13 points is embarrassing in the extreme but quite frankly to be expected by us faithful, loyal fans. Nothing else is expected away from home, as they simply are an awful team put together on the cheap as always like the last 12 years have been. Think the Witches management need to take note of us genuine fans, like who write on these pages and realise we are not going to put up with these terrible weak teams anymore, put together with no-hope of success.
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ged scott
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
well said ged and ron . we need 5 or 6 new riders and a new team manage as simmons is as good as the team , no backbone just do as the louis's say.
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wayne horne
Monday, August 30, 2010
After watching another season of total disapointment,one wonders how much PRIDE there is in the management of this once great club.Year on year of putting together teams that are a complete rubbish!! To put a team with one class rider was a joke.For the louis's and simmon's to talk of top 4 place was even more of a joke.If we carry on like this how long before we have another SAVE OUR SPEEDWAY!! Things need to change now.Us supporters have enough!
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Ron C
Monday, August 30, 2010
What pride??? It does not exist amonst this ramshackle bunch or no-hopers (apart from Scott of course). Relegation play-offs is a certainty but what do we hear from Simmons, "we can still get out of the bottom place and rise up the table" what a clown but the trouble is, he is not funny. Things have to change for next season (in the elite no way Louis's will lose their sky money) and a team with at least 2 top heatleaders is required with young up and coming talented riders (from Australia I hope) at second string and reserve. Forget about under performing Poles who miss half the meetings anyway and go for talent from Australia, Sweden and Denmark, Andreas Jonsson or Hans Andersen come to mind to help Scott out in heats 13 and 15. Wake up Louis's to the real facts that things need to change big-time, before Witches slip into the abyss and extinction.
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ged scott
Monday, August 30, 2010