PREVIEW: Cheetahs on the brink heading into concluding leg of Grand Final at Poole
MONARCH Oxford Cheetahs can collect their first league title in 23 seasons in the second leg of the Grand Final of the Cab Direct Championship at Poole’s Wimborne Road on Wednesday evening at 7.30pm.
Cheetahs head into the meeting with a 12-point advantage following the first leg at Oxford Stadium on Saturday, when No 1 Sam Masters scored a brilliant 12+3 paid maximum and reserve Luke Killeen collected a priceless 12+1 from reserve.
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. That year – in the season before the play-offs began – Cheetahs finished their 32 league meetings one point ahead of Poole Pirates.
Cheetahs track the same seven riders who won 51-39 on Saturday – inflicting the heaviest defeat of the season on Pirates in the process.
Dan Gilkes – who scored 8+1 against Pirates – will again guest for the injured Jordan Jenkins. Oxford Charger Jody Scott – buoyed by finishing third in the British Under-19 Final at Cowley on Sunday – will continue to cover for Adam Roynon at reserve.
Team manager Peter Schroeck makes one change, with Gilkes switching to No 2 and Cameron Heeps to No 4.
On their last visit to Wimborne Road in August, Cheetahs stunned Pirates with a 49-41 victory, with Killeen top-scoring on 11+3 while Ashton Boughen defeated Poole No 1 Richard Lawson. But no-one is complacent against a strong Poole side who topped the regular Cab Direct Championship standings.
Cheetahs’ skipper Scott Nicholls said: “We’ve got a 12-point lead heading into the second leg after a great team effort at Oxford. It’s nice to be in front, but we can’t afford to try to defend that lead. We’ll be heading to Poole with the same mentality we had in the first leg.
“We will be attacking at Poole from the get-go. Maybe as the night progresses, if we’re still in a strong position, we can start to ride tactically. But Poole will be coming at us hard, and we maybe just have to continue attacking the whole night, while balancing that and being sensible at the same time.
“We want to bring back the title to our fantastic supporters at Oxford. We won’t take anything for granted, but we believe that we can do the job.”
There will be one further meeting at Oxford Stadium this season – the final of the Cab Direct Championship Knockout Cup against Poole. The dates for the two legs have yet to be finalised.
Oxford Speedway stages its End Of Season Party at the DoubleTree by Hilton Oxford Belfry on Friday, October 25. Tickets are on sale at https://oxfordspeedway.club/tickets/
Teams:
Poole Wessex Marine Pirates: Richard Lawson, Sam Hagon, Ben Cook (C), Zach Cook, Tom Brennan, Tobias Thomsen, Vinnie Foord.
Monarch Oxford Cheetahs: Sam Masters, Dan Gilkes (G), Ashton Boughen, Cameron Heeps, Scott Nicholls (C), Luke Killeen, Jody Scott.
(PHOTO by Steve Edmunds)