PIRATES WILL MISS THE MAGIC

Poole Coastal Aluminium Pirates have been rocked by the news that stand-in skipper Maciej Janowski has been ruled out of Monday night's vital semi-final play-off against King's Lynn, after requiring 9 stitches in an arm injury.

Janowski who has carried the Pirates with pride over the final few weeks of the regular season joins Josh Grajczonek on the injury list and with Vaclav Milik unavailable due to a clash of dates with the Czech Republic national championships and Darcy Ward under FIM suspension, the Pirates are down to just three regular riders for the crucial clash with the Stars.

Poole promoter Matt Ford explained "Magic was undergoing some Moto-cross riding on Thursday when he was involved in a fall that saw him damage his arm to the extent that it required 9 stitches. Initially he had hoped to be able to shake off the incident but he was in intense pain and  discomfort from it so had to make a visit to his local hospital where was treated for it.

"Without him on Monday it leaves us very exposed and we are now virtually totally reliant on guests, with only Shamek anywhere near full fitness as Kyle (Newman) has been struggling with a knee injury and Benji (Compton) a wrist complaint - both of which were sustained in the last week's first leg.

"I guess the only thing you can say about this is that it has opened up the second leg even more. It was never going to be easy against a King's Lynn side that largely has form around Wimborne Road and with just one point separating the two sides after the first 15 heats it is looking as though this tie - and a place in the final - will go right down to the wire.

Poole, who have called on the services of Davey Watt and Edward Kennett whilst retaining their first leg guest duo of Craig Cook and Danny King, for Monday are looking for the fifth successive appearance in a play-off final whilst the King's Lynn Stars, who have injury issues of their own with Niels-Kristian Iversen, Lewis Kerr and Lewis Rose all ruled out, will be seeking  a place in their first ever play-off final.

Teams from
Poole: Craig Cook (Guest), Edward Kennett (Guest), Danny King (Guest), Przemyslaw Pawlicki,Davey Watt (Guest), Benji Compton, Kyle Newman Team manager Neil Middleditch
King's Lynn: Kenneth Bjerre, Robert Lambert, Scott Nicholls (Guest), Niklas Porsing, Rory Schlein (Capt), Simon Lambert, Charles Wright (Guest) Team Manager: Rob Lyon