Monday will only be the Sittingbourne-based Kings’ fourth match in this season’s TPNL but a win over the Fen Tigers will nevertheless lift Kent into third place in the table.
Mildenhall become the first side this season to visit Central Park for a second time and will be hoping to fare better than their trip here in the month in the National Trophy [NT], when they went down by 64 points to 23.
That team was depleted and the side from Suffolk are strengthened by the return after compassionate leave following the premature birth of his fourth child (happy to report both mother and daughter are doing well…) of the ever-green and ever-popular Jon Armstrong.
Armstrong, a former League Riders Champion in this division, is one of the sport’s great entertainers and always a potent scorer around the Central Park circuit. Also established as something of a track expert after an excellent second-placing in the Central Park-staged GB Under 21 semi-final earlier this season is Connor Mountain.
The teenager from Norfolk will be riding for the first time in an away match in the number one race jacket for the visitors.
Mildenhall will also hope to have Luke Ruddick (an injury absentee last tie) back in action though this is subject to a fitness test this coming weekend. They’ve been bolstered in the reserve berths anyhow though, by the acquisition of yet another rider with an excellent pedigree at Central Park: Chris Widman, who finished a hugely creditable third in last season’s Laurels event staged at the Sittingbourne Greyhound Stadium home of Kent Speedway.
Mildenhall have certainly had injury problems aplenty this term – this even affected Danny Halsey whose proud record of 77 consecutive home matches for the Fen Tigers was broken last weekend. The 2014 National League Riders Champion will though be back in the saddle on Monday.
For the homesters who’ve gone through the magical 60 points barrier in both of their last matches at Central Park, the absence of heat leader Danny Ayres (on Premier League duty up at Newcastle for the Glasgow Tigers) will be covered by Rider Replacement; with all the team (who are all to a man in terrific form) able between them to cover the absent Ayres’ riders except for the number one and skipper Luke Bowen.
The match has a 3.00pm start time (gates open at 1.30pm). Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Leslie.