PREVIEW: OXFORD v POOLE (Champ)

OXFORD are looking forward to hosting another capacity crowd for tonight’s (Wednesday) Championship encounter with Poole at Cowley.

All 2,000 tickets for the meeting were snapped up within days of going on sale, underlining the overwhelming support for the return of the sport to the city.

On-track, the Pirates won 58-32 when the sides met in Dorset on Good Friday – but Cheetahs skipper Scott Nicholls is determined to reverse that form.

He said: “We got our rear ends well and truly kicked on Friday. We can’t argue with that result, Poole were the far better team on the night.

“We’re building a new team and regenerating a historic club, so not every result this year is going to go our way. Poole showed their skills around their home track and beat us – it’s as simple as that.

“Now, it’s our turn to make the most of our home advantage and put down a marker to one of the sport’s most successful clubs. We’re excited for the challenge and can’t wait to ride in front of our outstanding supporters again.”

Pirates promoter Danny Ford said: “I can see it being a very competitive fixture. Obviously Oxford will feel they have a score to settle after we did them on Good Friday but we will be doing our very best to come away with more league points.

“The sell-out crowd will have plenty to look forward to and I just hope that among that capacity there will be plenty of Poole fans cheering our lads on.”

The Cheetahs again have Nathan Stoneman standing in at reserve for the injured Josh Macdonald. They have also declared rider-replacement for Cameron Heeps.

The meeting is sold out, but is being streamed live via the British Speedway Network.

OXFORD: Troy Batchelor, Cameron Heeps R/R, Jack Thomas, Kyle Newman, Scott Nicholls, Dillon Ruml, Nathan Stoneman.
POOLE: Steve Worrall, Zach Cook, Richard Lawson, Ben Cook, Danny King, Drew Kemp, Nathan Ablitt.