PREVIEW: PIRATES LOOKING TO BOOK THEIR PLACE IN SECOND FINAL

The Pirates travel to KO Cup holders Scunthorpe on Friday (6th September) with their eyes firmly fixed on a place staking their place in their second final of the 2024 season.

Although they are holding a healthy thirty-one point first leg lead, the Pirates will not be taking matters lightly, particularly as this could prove to be a dress rehearsal for at least one forthcoming final, with Scunthorpe well positioned to join them in the BSN Series Final, and potentially even the play-offs.

But those future fixture opportunities will be pushed to one side with full focus on the current matter in hand. After crashing during Richard Lawson's Testimonial meeting Sam Hagon aggravated the mouth injury he initially sustained when he crashed at Berwick earlier in the year, and as a consequence has been ruled out, which means there will be additional pressure on the lower averaged riders in the side, as the Pirates will operate the rider replacement facility, meaning Hagon's rides can only be taken by Zach Cook and the two reserves, Tobias Thomsen and guest Paul Starke.

Whilst promoter Dan Ford believes the Pirates have enough 'in the bank' to see the Pirates through he really wants to see his side carry their recent good form into this meeting which would help set the team up for the big finals on the horizon.
"We are in a strong position with the thirty-one point lead", he said, "but we are not taking anything for granted. Scunthorpe is always a tough place to go, but it is a track where we believe we can get the job done and secure our spot in the final."

Poole lost by six points at the Eddie Wright Raceway in this season's league visit, just one of three sides to have broken into the forty-point barrier there across all competitions, but with the Scorpions having hit sixty plus the Pirates know only too well they can't afford to sit back on their laurels, as the home side is littered with big scorers around the venue.

Teams
Scunthorpe (David Howe) 1 Michael Palm-Toft 2 Connor Mountain 3 Simon Lambert (Capt) 4 Jake Allen 5 Kyle Howarth, 6 Nathan Ablitt 7 Ace Pijper (Guest)
Poole (Dan Ford) 1 Richard Lawson 2 Rider Replacement (for Sam Hagon), 3 Ben Cook 4 Zach Cook 5 Tom Brennan 6 Tobias Thomsen 7 Paul Starke (Guest)

• The second semi-final tie is also due to be resolved at Redcar on Friday when visitors Oxford will be defending their ten point first leg advantage