PREVIEW: SCUNTHORPE v LEICESTER (PO QF)
SCUNTHORPE have been forced into changes ahead of tonight’s (Friday) Championship play-off quarter-final against Leicester.
Scorpions star Thomas Jorgensen’s season is over after he suffered knee ligament damage and concussion in a crash at Sheffield last weekend, and the home side will also be without Theo Pijper whose license has been suspended following an incident in the British Youth Championship round at Plymouth last month.
Connor Mountain comes in at reserve whilst Kasper Andersen guests for Tero Aario, absent with visa issues, and the home side use rider-replacement for Jorgensen.
Defending champions Leicester continue with r/r for Dan Thompson who is serving a mandatory absence following illness.
Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey said: “It does feel that events have conspired against us in the last week at such a crucial time of the season, but we’re not beaten yet – not by any means.
“Both Kasper and Connor scored well in guest appearances at Scunthorpe in our final two regular league meetings, which is why we didn’t hesitant to book them again to ride against at the Eddie Wright Raceway against Leicester.
“Skipper Simon Lambert and the lads are really up for this. We need to be scoring points across the team – from No.1 Adam Ellis, down to Josh MacDonald and Connor at reserve.”
Lions boss Stewart Dickson said: “We face a real challenge against Scunthorpe, and the pressure is on in these ties because this is sudden death. If we don’t qualify, that’s the end of our season.
“That also makes it exciting, and Scunthorpe will be gunning for us on Friday, especially after seeing what happened to us at Poole, which was really disappointing.
“But it’s all about what we do. We need to bounce back, roll our sleeves up and get stuck in, and that will be the message. We need to get into the semi-finals and take it from there.”
SCUNTHORPE: Adam Ellis, Simon Lambert, Jordan Palin, Kasper Andersen, Thomas Jorgensen R/R, Josh MacDonald, Connor Mountain.
LEICESTER: Nick Morris, Kyle Howarth, Ryan Douglas, Dan Thompson R/R, Hans Andersen, Joe Thompson, Zaine Kennedy.
