PREVIEW: Cheetahs in must-win match at the BetGoodwin Oxford Stadium

SD TIMMO CAR SALES Oxford Cheetahs are looking for all three points when they host Redcar Bears in the Cab Direct Championship at the BetGoodwin Oxford Stadium on Wednesday (June 24) evening at 7.30pm.

Both teams are currently at the wrong end of the table, but victory – allied with the aggregate bonus point – would move either team up to mid-table and within sight of the play-off places.

Last week, Cheetahs experienced a tough time, with a home defeat to Glasgow, followed by a 44-46 defeat at Redcar on Friday, and another loss at Plymouth on Saturday. In particular, the two away meetings were hugely frustrating for Oxford – they led at Redcar by ten points at one stage, while arguably the turning-point at Plymouth was a 5-0 to Gladiators in Heat 9 after a very debatable exclusion for Mitch McDiarmid.

With Edward Kennett ruled out by the seven-day sickness rule after missing the meeting at Plymouth, Cheetahs will use rider replacement in his place.

For Redcar, their No 1 Nicolai Klindt is riding in Denmark and their former star Danny King will come in to replace him.

Cheetahs’ manager Peter Schroeck says: ”We know it is all about winning meetings. That’s what I’m employed for – it’s what the riders are employed for. I don’t want to say ‘we put in a good performance and we were close’; I want to say ‘we put in a good performance and we pulled off the win’. At the same time, I’m not going to hammer the boys if I can see they are putting everything into their racing.

“At the end of the day, there are two outcomes – you win or you lose. A lot of supporters are judging us by results and we know that.

“But we haven’t given up on the season yet – far from it. The past is the past and we’ll move on. Nothing is lost yet. We want to turn our season around, starting by taking all three points against Redcar and start to push ourselves up the league table.

“We are always looking to win every meeting and that won’t change. It’s sport and we can’t guarantee that – but we will never give up. We are listening to supporters, shown by the instillation of a box office at the stadium. I ask for our supporters to stick by us and not to boycott us – they are the lifeblood of this great club.”

Tickets are on sale on the Oxford Speedway website at: https://oxfordspeedway.club/tickets/

Admission is available at the early bird price of £21 for all adults, which increases to £23 on Race Day. All under-16s go free. Spectators are also reminded that they will need to pay £2 when booking their ticket if they are planning to park in the Unipart car park. Parking at the Unipart car park is now fully restored and the club thank Unipart for their co-operation.

On Race Day, there is now also the chance to buy tickets by cash or card at the box office.

Any tickets from the rained off Redcar meeting on May 3 have been transferred to this new date. If anyone would like a refund rather than their ticket transferred, they need to contact Ticket Source using the details in the email they received informing them of the postponement. Ticket Source will then issue the refund.

Given the glorious weather forecast, supporters are more than welcome to bring along their own water on Wednesday evening. Oxford Speedway encourages all supporters to stay well hydrated.

Teams:

SD Timmo Car Sales Oxford Cheetahs: Sam Masters (C), Luke Killeen, Edward Kennett R/R, Mitch McDiarmid, Anders Rowe, Darryl Ritchings, Dayle Wood. Team manager: Peter Schroeck.

Redcar Agilia Bears: Danny King (G), Ace Pijper, Simon Lambert, Jason Edwards, Jake Allen, Jake Mulford, Jody Scott. Team manager: Gavin Parr.

PHOTO by Steve Edmunds