PREVIEW: Monarch Cheetahs up for the Cup!
THE all-important business end of the season commences for the Monarch Oxford Cheetahs – when they host the Redcar Bears in the first leg of the Cab Direct Knockout Cup semi-final at Oxford Stadium on Wednesday evening (7.30pm).
The second leg takes place in Teesside at the ECCO Arena on Friday evening and the aggregate winners will progress to the final, where the opposition is likely to be the Poole Pirates, who hold a 31-point lead over Scunthorpe after one leg of the other semi-final.
In the Cab Direct Championship meetings earlier in the season, Cheetahs beat Redcar Bears by 53-36 at Cowley on May 15, while the return at Redcar in June ended in a 45-45 draw.
There’s also been more than a fair share of controversy between the two sides this year. Bears won the concluding Super Heat at Redcar, after Oxford skipper Scott Nicholls was penalised by 15 metres for moving at the start-line for a second time – with video footage showing several other riders made the same minimal movement but without penalty.
Nicholls was also excluded for a clash with Bears’ skipper Charles Wright in the final race of the Championship Pairs – a decision that Nicholls certainly did not agree with – helping Redcar to win the competition for the second time in three years at Oxford Stadium.
Oxford Charger Jody Scott will again step up to replace the injured Adam Roynon. Scott scored three points on Saturday, as Cheetahs recovered from ten points down to win 47-43 at Plymouth, after a final heat 5-1 from Nicholls and Masters.
While both Oxford Spires and Oxford Chargers concluded their respective seasons last week, there’s still plenty of action ahead for Cheetahs, who will also face Scunthorpe in the semi-finals of the Cab Direct Championship play-offs. Cheetahs will finish second in the final table and Scunthorpe third.
Oxford team manager Peter Schroeck said: “The business end to the season starts for Cheetahs with our home meeting with Redcar in the semi-finals of the Cab Direct Knockout Cup.
“The boys have worked so hard this season and the last thing we want to do is waste that hard work and slip up now. We’d love to have two finals at the end of the season against Poole, given the history and heritage of the two clubs.
“But we can’t look ahead too much. We have to take it one step at a time and that starts with the two meetings against Redcar, both at Oxford on Wednesday and at their place on Friday evening. The approach won’t be much different to the one we’ve had all season, but we know the job we need to do.
“The riders can hear when the fans are cheering them from the terraces. Our supporters have been terrific all season in getting behind the lads and I hope they’ve saved their voices enough for the next few weeks!”
No 1 Sam Masters added: “We’re out to score as many points as we can at Oxford against Redcar. Whatever we did in the league, when we comfortably beat them on aggregate, counts for nothing, because it all starts again. We will stay focused and make sure we do the job. If we keep having fun, what will be will be.”
Tickets are already on sale on the Oxford Speedway website at https://oxfordspeedway.club/tickets/
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. The first thousand adult tickets sold get a free drink (Drink options: Pint, small glass of wine, draught or soft drink).
A reminder that Oxford Speedway is online ticket sales only – tickets remain on sale on the website until the start-time of the meeting.
A reminder that Season Passes are NOT valid on Wednesday 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:
Monarch Oxford Cheetahs: Sam Masters, Cameron Heeps, Ashton Boughen, Jordan Jenkins, Scott Nicholls (C), Luke Killeen, Jody Scott (G).
Redcar Agilia Bears: Charles Wright (C), Dan Gilkes, Jye Etheridge (G), Jason Edwards, Danny King, Ben Trigger, Jake Mulford.
(PHOTO by Steve Edmunds)