Poole Pirates vs Redcar Bears – MAXiCab KO Cup Final Preview

The first leg of the MAXiCab Knockout Cup Final takes place tonight at Wimborne Road, with tapes up at 7:30 PM, as the Poole Pirates host the Redcar Bears in what promises to be a thrilling clash.

Team News

Poole Pirates: Richard Lawson returns to the side following Sunday’s play-off victory over Redcar, with the rest of the team unchanged. The Pirates are chasing the first of three finals on their bid for a second-tier treble.

Redcar Bears: Jake Allen will feature in the in-form side, while Glasgow’s Freddy Hodder replaces Jody Scott, who remains sidelined due to concussion protocol.

Form & Focus

Redcar boss Gavin Parr admitted to Redcar-Speedway.com disappointment after Sunday’s play-off exit but is determined to refocus on the KO Cup:

“We had Monday to think about what happened on Sunday but we now have to switch back on to the job in hand. The KO Cup is now the focus so we need to dust ourselves down and bounce back against Poole tonight.”

Parr acknowledged Poole’s superiority in the previous meeting:

“Poole were the better team, it’s as simple as that. They had their gating gloves on and they were getting to the first bends before us more often than not which was vital on Sunday.”

The Bears manager remains optimistic about the season’s potential:

“Don’t forget, we have already won the pairs so if we can get the KO Cup and/or the BSN Series, it would be our best ever season.”

For Poole, co-promoter Dan Ford on the Poole Speedway website warned against complacency:

“Obviously our performance on Sunday was impressive but we ‘poked the Bear’ and now we face the consequences. They remain a formidable set of opponents and we know that everything is rolled back to zero and we have to go again… the aim will be to achieve that and put ourselves in a strong position to retain the KO Cup.”

The Pirates will aim to assert early dominance with a full-strength line-up and strong home support, while the Bears will look to keep the scores close or claim an upset to set up an exciting second leg at the ECCO Arena on Friday.

Fans unable to attend can watch the meeting live via BSN Live >> https://watch.britishspeedway.co.uk

Full Line-ups

Poole Pirates

1. Richard Lawson 9.83

2. ⁠Tobias Thomsen 4.81

3. Lewis Kerr 6.94

4. Zach Cook (C) 7.34

5. Anders Rowe 7.57

6. Paul Starke 4.13

7. William Cairns 3.91

™: Neil Middleditch

Redcar “Agilia” Bears