Preview: PIRATES SEEK TO REGAIN MOMENTUM AGAINST THE COMETS

The Poole 'Wessex Marine' Pirates will be keen to return to winning aways after recent back-to-back defeats, when they meet the Workington Comets in the first leg of the BSN Series semi-final on Wednesday.
 

Having lost their long unbeaten home record at the hands of Oxford last Wednesday and suffered their first league defeat of the 2024 season five days earlier, the Pirates will be wanting to show their 'bounceback-ability' against a side that they have achieved the league double against this year with an aggregate 114-66 score.

Poole promoter Dan Ford claims, "as we gear up for the BSN Series semi-final against Workington, it's crucial that we bounce back strong after our first home defeat of the season. This is a pivotal moment for us to re-establish our momentum. Workington poses a different challenge to earlier in the season with guests Drew Kemp and Jason Edwards making them a formidable opponent around Wimborne Road. The stakes are high and our focus is on securing the big win to keep our season on track.

Workington make the long one-off trip south boosted by the news that number one Craig Cook is back amongst the throng having missed their last few fixtures, and that provides a strong top end to their side along with Troy Batchelor , who knocked in a 13 point return in their league visit back in May. The Comets do have absenteeism though, with both Tate Zischke and Claus Vissing ruled out through injury, whilst the Pirates too continue to miss reserve Vinnie Foord.

As Dan Ford revealed, covering for Vissing will be 2022 Pirate Drew Kemp, a rider who has posted double figure scores on each of his last four appearances at Wimborne Road, making him a shrewd choice of guest, whilst the promising Jason Edwards is Zischke's stand-in.

Poole fans will have the opportunity to welcome home GP wild card Tom Brennan after his four point yield in Cardiff, together with the unused reserve Sam Hagon, whilst Championship pairs semi-finalists Richard Lawson and Ben Cook also take their places in the Pirates seven that includes Redcar's Ben Trigger as their chosen replacement for Foord. The two sides will meet for the second leg on Saturday week at the impressive Cumbrian venue.

Teams
Poole (Team manager Neil Middleditch) 1 Richard Lawson 2 Sam Hagon 3 Ben Cook (Capt) 4 Zach Cook 5 Tom Brennan 6 Tobias Thomsen 7 Ben Trigger (Guest)
Workington (Team manager Andrew Bain) 1 Craig Cook (Capt) 2 Jason Edwards (Guest) 3 Antti Vuolas 4 Drew Kemp (Guest) 5 Troy Batchelor 6 Sam McGurk 7 Paul Starke