Hammers v Pirates preview

Lakeside will host their biggest meeting of the season so far as they welcome star-studded Poole to the Arena-Essex Raceway on Friday (8pm).

The Vortex Hammers will look to preserve their perfect home record and bounce back from a heavy defeat at the hands of the Pirates at Wimborne Road on Wednesday.

The Purfleet outfit are sure to face a tough challenge against the powerhouse Dorset outfit, who are widely being backed to win their fourth successive Elite League title.

However, promoter Jon Cook hopes their team spirit can be the deciding factor as they aim to add three more points to their Elite League tally.

Cook said: “The Pirates are red hot favourites for the title and have assembled a formidable looking team from their enviable huge retained list of riders, although ironically their stand out performer thus far is a Hammers asset Adam Ellis, as we saw last week.

Some pundits are even suggesting the Dorset side can ride through the season undefeated so tonight will give us a far greater indication of where our own lofty aspirations lay.

Last week’s terrific away win at Leicester, 24 hours after victory over the Lions here, has given us a more than decent points haul at this early stage of the year and any team with serious play-off aspirations will have to get a win over Leicester at their place.

However, the manner of our win was particularly pleasing to witness as the bond between our team was very evident and that spirit will serve us well over the next few months.”

The Vortex Hammers remain unchanged for the sixth successive meeting, whilst Poole are also at full strength.

Lakeside Hammers:

Andreas Jonsson, Piotr Swiderski, Lewis Bridger, Richard Lawson, Kim Nilsson, Robert Mear, Lewis Kerr.

Poole Pirates:

Chris Holder, Brady Kurtz, Davey Watt, Hans Andersen, Krzysztof Buczkowski, Adam Ellis, Kyle Newman.

Admission: (tickets available at the gate)

Adults: £18
Concessions: £15 * (concessions cover Male OAP’s 65 and over, female OAP’s 65 and over, Disabled, Unemployed and Students over 18)
17 and 18 year olds in full education: £5 *
7 to 16 year olds inclusive: £2
6 year olds and under: Free
(*proof of entitlement may be requested.)

Programme: £3