This Saturday the Kent SLYDE Kings travel to Loomer Road for their final Travel Plus National League fixture against Stoke. This fixture had previously been for a fortnight previous but was postponed due to the bad weather in Staffordshire that weekend.
The Kings head into this match missing three of their regular septet. Bradley Andrews is still out injured with the finger injuries he sustained in the victory at Birmingham on the 6th September. Also missing will be Jack Thomas and Dan Greenwood, both missing to pre arranged engagements that they were unable to move. The replacement at reserve for Bradley will be announced in due course. To replace Jack and Dan, team manager Chris Hunt will need to find a guest to replace one of the duo whilst rider replacement will be needed to cover the other. Announcements will be made once the replacements are known.
The opposition of Stoke will be at full strength as almost a rarity at the moment their doubling up rider is free of fixture clashes. In this case it is Mitchell Davey who raced to an impressive maximum at Central Park, in the reverse fixture between the two sides back in May. There will also be two riders in the Potters line up who were not on show that day in May. The first is Lee Dicken, he has come into the Stoke line up as a replacement for David Wallinger. Wallinger who was so impressive in that reverse fixture between Kent and Stoke suffered an injury to his back in Stoke’s visit to the Isle of Wight. Also now in the Potters line up is Paul Burnett. For the third season in a row Burnett has come into the Stoke line up during the season, this time it was to replace the out of sorts David Speight who decided to take a break from the sport.
The Kings can still finish top of the Travel Plus National League as can Belle Vue or Eastbourne. Belle Vue take on Eastbourne at the National Speedway Stadium also on Saturday night. For the Kings to finish top they need to beat Stoke by more than 7 points and claim 4 league points, also needed is Belle Vue to beat Eastbourne, as this would put Kent onto 48 points and leave Belle Vue and Eastbourne tied on 47. The upshot of finishing top of the league is that it gives you choice of opponents for the Play Off semi finals.
Stoke will also be looking for points to move away from the bottom of the league, so it should prove to be an enthralling meeting. The Kings form the second half of a double header as Stoke take on Mildenhall, with that meeting getting underway at 5pm.