PREVIEW: Cheetahs in huge Grand Final meeting on historic Saturday at Oxford Stadium
MONARCH Oxford Cheetahs have a date with destiny with old rivals Poole Pirates in the first leg of the Grand Final of the Cab Direct Championship play-offs at Oxford Stadium on Saturday (October 5) evening at 7.30pm.
The second and concluding leg takes place down at Wimborne Road in Dorset next Wednesday (October 9), and the aggregate winners will become the Cab Direct Championship league champions for 2024.
Both meetings are restaged dates, after record-breaking amounts of rain caused havoc with the speedway calendar last week.
Saturdays evenings have traditionally been reserved for greyhound racing at Oxford Stadium. But these days, with the speedway being run in-house and both sports run hand-in-hand at Sandy Lane, the opportunity to stage the Cowley leg of the Grand Final on a Saturday evening was too good to be missed.
It will be the first Saturday speedway meeting at Oxford Stadium in 56 years. The last occasion was on Saturday, July 13, 1968, when Oxford Cheetahs defeated Newport Wasps by 54-24 in a British League match. The meeting was moved to a Saturday to avoid clashing with the 1968 British Final at Wimbledon.
Poole have already won the BSN Series – defeating Scunthorpe in the final – and are seeking a treble, while Cheetahs are chasing a league and cup double. The two clubs will also meet in the final of the Cab Direct Knockout Cup on dates yet to be finalised.
Poole finished top of the regular Cab Direct Championship table – with Oxford second. But Monarch Cheetahs won both meetings against Pirates – via a Super Heat at Sandy Lane, and with a stunning 49-41 victory down at Wimborne Road, Cheetahs’ first win away at Poole for 25 years.
Poole Pirates and Oxford Cheetahs are two of the biggest names in speedway. Pirates have more league titles than any other British team, while Oxford Speedway have won eight league championships.
While Oxford Chargers won the National League last season, Oxford have not picked up a league title at either of the two senior levels since 2001, when Cheetahs won the Elite League, beating Poole into second place in the process.
Cheetahs track an identical team to the one that beat Scunthorpe in both legs of the play-off semi-final, with Dan Gilkes coming in for the injured Jordan Jenkins, while Oxford Charger Jody Scott will replace Adam Roynon, who only made one appearance for Cheetahs before injury struck.
Oxford team manager Peter Schroeck said: “We believe the Saturday date for our leg of the final could really work. Many people won’t have to dash from work, while it gives more opportunity for the Poole fans to travel up. I also hope we attract new people and new families along, intrigued to see what all the fuss is about and we hope to put a fantastic show for them.
“The play-off final is a huge occasion, and for Poole to be our opponents only makes it bigger, due to the proud history of both clubs. There’s also quite a rivalry between the two clubs – this isn’t the first time Oxford and Poole have been in a battle to decide the league championship.
“It’s my job to make sure the team remain calm. There’s been a lot of interest and a lot of razzmatazz surrounding the Grand Final, as there always was going to be, but I’ve got to make sure the boys don’t get distracted by that, and stay focused and approach it like a normal meeting.
“More than anything, we hope everyone connected with Oxford Speedway – our supporters, our sponsors, all our track staff and helpers – enjoy what should be a fabulous occasion.”
To complete a weekend feast of action, the British Under-19 Final takes place at Oxford Stadium on Sunday (October 6) afternoon at 3pm, with five Oxford riders – Ashton Boughen, Luke Killeen, Jody Scott, Ashton Vale and Senna Summers – amongst a very talented young line-up.
Tickets are on sale for both meetings at https://oxfordspeedway.club/tickets/
For the play-off final, admission is available at the early bird price of £20 for all adults, which increases to £22 on Race Day. All under-16s go free. A reminder that Oxford Speedway is online ticket sales only – tickets remain on sale on the website until the start-time of the meeting. Please note any tickets purchased for the original rained off date have transferred to the new date.
Season Passes are NOT valid on Saturday or for the remainder of the season. The passes did not include progression in any competition and all 28 meetings (12 Spires, 11 Cheetahs and 5 Chargers) covered by the Ultimate Pass have all taken place.
Teams for first leg at Oxford on Saturday:
Monarch Oxford Cheetahs: Sam Masters, Cameron Heeps, Ashton Boughen, Dan Gilkes (G), Scott Nicholls (C), Luke Killeen, Jody Scott.
Poole Wessex Marine Pirates: Richard Lawson, Sam Hagon, Ben Cook (C), Zach Cook, Tom Brennan, Tobias Thomsen, Vinnie Foord.
(PHOTO: Les Aubrey)