CHARGERS FACE TOUGH TEST AT LEICESTER
THIRD-PLACED Oxford Chargers travel to second-placed Leicester Lion Cubs tomorrow evening (Saturday) for what promises to be a hard-fought match between two of the top teams in the National League.
The meeting is the first for Chargers since a huge 56-34 victory at Plymouth on June 14, when exciting 17-year-old prospect Luke Killeen made his British Speedway debut and scored 13+2 and was unbeaten until the final race.
Since then, Killeen, who grew up in Australia but has British parents, has appeared three times for the Oxford Cheetahs team in the Championship and has fought valiantly from the No 7 spot, although he fell three times during the home 50-40 victory over Plymouth Gladiators on Wednesday evening.
Killeen again slots into the No 7 berth for Chargers, where he is again likely to be a trump card.
Henry Atkins makes his first appearance as a full-time Charger, after being released by the Plymouth Centurions. He previously guested for Chargers at Belle Vue and scored 10+1.
Meanwhile, Nathan Stoneman is missing. Welshman Stoneman, Local Oxford resident, has enjoyed a good season for both Chargers and in guest performances for Cheetahs, resulting in Berwick Bandits signing him full-time for their Championship side.
Stoneman is still eligible to ride for Chargers in the National League, but in the case of any fixture clashes, his Championship commitments take priority. On Saturday, he is making his home debut for Bandits in a meeting against Poole. Chargers bring in Belle Vue’s Jake Mulford as a guest for Stoneman.
Although he is not riding at Leicester, Chargers also have Jody Scott as part of their squad. Scott was highly impressive in two British Youth Championship rounds last weekend on his return from a wrist injury, winning at Redcar and finishing third at Scunthorpe.
Leicester Lion Cubs are led by the Thompson twins, Dan and Joe Thompson, who both also ride for the senior Leicester Lions side and Lion Cubs currently sit second in the table, four points ahead of Chargers, although Chargers have a match in hand.
Chargers’ team manager Peter Schroeck said: “It’s going to be a really good match between two evenly matched teams.
“Quite a few of our boys have practised up at Leicester. We don’t put pressure on the riders in our Chargers team, so we’ll going to go up there to enjoy ourselves and we’ll see if we come away with a victory.”
The next action at Oxford is next Wednesday (July 13), when Oxford Cheetahs host Berwick Bandits in Championship action. Accompanied children under 16 go free, as part of a continuing promotion by the club, Tickets are now live and can be purchased online from https://oxfordspeedway.club/tickets/
Expected teams for Saturday night:
Leicester Lion Cubs: 1. Dan Thompson, 2. Mickie Simpson, 3. Connor Coles, 4. Tom Spencer, 5. Joe Thompson (skipper), 6. Vinnie Foord, 7. Max Perry.
Oxford Chargers: 1. Jordan Jenkins (skipper), 2. Jacob Clouting, 3. Sam Hagon, 4. Henry Atkins, 5, Jake Mulford (guest), 6. Arran Butcher, 7. Luke Killeen.