After a first away win of the season in the Travel Plus National League [TPNL] at Mildenhall, the Kent SLYDE Kings return to Central Park Stadium this evening reinvigorated in their chase for the Play Offs.
Indeed victory tonight over fierce local rivals Lakeside Hammers would present the opportunity if they can claim another win on the road down in Plymouth on Friday to gate-crash the all-important top four by the end of the week.
Confidence in the Kent camp is high after Sunday’s monumental victory over a major opponent for the Play Offs and comes on the back of a 100% record in the TPNL at home – but there’s no question that the Arena Essex Raceway-based Hammers from just over the Dartford Crossing represent the biggest challenge to date to the SLYDE Kings’ proud league record at Central Park.
The hosts are still without skipper Luke Bowen who is undertaking an intensive programme of physiotherapy to get his injured shoulder race ready – this fixture has come a week too early though for this inevitable period of recuperation after breaking his shoulder back in June.
With the regular Guest in the TPNL home matches in July Ben Morley of course lining up this time in opposition body colours coming in to don the number one race jacket will be a Central Park debutant in Adam Roynon. The 28-year-old from Cumbria is (like Morley indeed) a former Divisional Riders Champion – winning the Conference League (as the TPNL was then known) individual title back in 2006.
This is the second part of a ‘double header’ of Guest performances for the Kings by former Coventry Bees rider in the top tier Roynon after appearing in the number race jacket in that win at West Row (another of his former home tracks) on Sunday. An early meeting fall and resultant machinery difficulties curtailed his scoring on that occasion and it will be crucial that he scores well today to bolster the home side’s challenge.
A challenge that’s made all the more tricky with Lakeside’s own choice of Guest at number one for their own injured number one: Zach Wajtknecht being stricken with internal injuries. The replacement is Stevie Boxall – who can outdo both Morley and Roynon when it comes to CLRC/NLRC glory having captured that crown a record two times; the second when the Kings’ captain in their first season of 2013.
Boxall and Morley are joined in the Hammers’ septet by another rider making his Central Park debutant this evening: former Team GB World Team Cup rider, Canterbury-born (like Boxall), Paul Hurry.
Kent continue to use Rider Replacement for the injured Nathan Stoneman – and this has served the team very well in recent weeks – with all of Ben Hopwood, Bradley Andrews, George Hunter and Anders Rowe contributing heavy scoring as has the stand-in skipper young Jack Thomas who retains a proud 100% record since stepping up to lead the side.
Teams [in alphabetical order]:
Kent SLYDE Kings:
Bradley Andrews; Ben Hopwood; George Hunter; Anders Rowe; Adam Roynon [G]; Jack Thomas; Rider Replacement for Nathan Stoneman; No. 78 tbc
Lakeside Hammers:
Alfie Bowtell; Stevie Boxall [G]; Jamie Couzins; Paul Hurry; Nick Laurence; Connor Locke; Ben Morley
The action gets underway at Central Park Stadium, Eurolink, Sittingbourne at 6.30pm.
Picture supplied by Elizabeth Leslie.