Post by zonkers on Oct 10, 2010 22:09:32 GMT
PETERBOROUGH: PANTHERS V POOLE (KOC SEMI-FINAL.1) - PREVIEW
SUNDAY OCTOBER 10, 2010
SKIPPER Niels-Kristian Iversen insists Peterborough can end rocking Poole’s hunt for glory.
The Pirates’ were crushed in the Elite League Grand Final after finishing 20 points ahead of their nearest rivals over the course of the 32-match season.
And they will end the campaign without any silverware if the Readypower Panthers can take a leaf out of newly-crowned league champions Coventry’s book by dumping the Pirates out of the Knock Out Cup.
The two teams meet at the East of England Showground on Monday night (October 11, 7.30 pm) in the first leg of the semi final.
Iversen said: “We can do it and we want to do it; getting to a final would be a great result for the fans and for the club, so we have to make sure we produce the performances we need.”
The second leg is at Wimborne Road on Wednesday night and Puk is calling on his teammates to build up a decent lead – and complete a hat-trick of home wins against the Dorset side.
He added: “I’m not so sure whether it is a good time to race Poole or not, they’ll either be really down or more determined to do well after missing out on the league.
“For us it doesn’t really matter either way, our job is still the same and we have to go out and win races if we want to get to the final.
“Our home record against them this year is good, we have beaten them twice and produced some really good performances, but we’ve done well on their track also.
“Last time we should have got a point but we had a bit of bad luck. We need everybody to come together at the same time and we have a really good chance.
“We need to produce a strong performance at home to set us up for the second leg, and we are confident that we can do that.”
Peterborough haven’t raced at the Showground since they were knocked out of the championship chase by Coventry three weeks ago and they will be buoyed by the fact the Bees then went on to record an even more convincing win over the title favourites.
It will be the fifth time the clubs have met in the KO Cup – and ties are all level.
Team boss Trevor Swales said: “We were absolutely gutted to lose to Coventry in the play-off semi final so I can imagine how Poole must be feeling, going down in the Grand Final.
“We were third in the table – Poole were on top, 26 points ahead of the Bees so it must have been such a big shock for them. We have to make sure they don’t bounce back.”
Poole owner Matt Ford admitted: "The lads are still reeling after losing out to Coventry last Monday.
“Failing to win the league silverware hit them hard as they had done little wrong all year and they are determined to sign off their season with something in the trophy cabinet.
“I am sure though that Peterborough will be hoping to catch us on a down and this promises to be another tough week for us."
Poole will be at full strength – including number one Chris Holder who qualified for the 2011 Grand Prix series on Saturday and World Under 21 Champion Darcy Ward who recently retained his title.
The Panthers are still missing Frenchman Mathieu Tresarrieu and will bring in teenager Taylor Poole as his replacement.
(BSPA)
SUNDAY OCTOBER 10, 2010
SKIPPER Niels-Kristian Iversen insists Peterborough can end rocking Poole’s hunt for glory.
The Pirates’ were crushed in the Elite League Grand Final after finishing 20 points ahead of their nearest rivals over the course of the 32-match season.
And they will end the campaign without any silverware if the Readypower Panthers can take a leaf out of newly-crowned league champions Coventry’s book by dumping the Pirates out of the Knock Out Cup.
The two teams meet at the East of England Showground on Monday night (October 11, 7.30 pm) in the first leg of the semi final.
Iversen said: “We can do it and we want to do it; getting to a final would be a great result for the fans and for the club, so we have to make sure we produce the performances we need.”
The second leg is at Wimborne Road on Wednesday night and Puk is calling on his teammates to build up a decent lead – and complete a hat-trick of home wins against the Dorset side.
He added: “I’m not so sure whether it is a good time to race Poole or not, they’ll either be really down or more determined to do well after missing out on the league.
“For us it doesn’t really matter either way, our job is still the same and we have to go out and win races if we want to get to the final.
“Our home record against them this year is good, we have beaten them twice and produced some really good performances, but we’ve done well on their track also.
“Last time we should have got a point but we had a bit of bad luck. We need everybody to come together at the same time and we have a really good chance.
“We need to produce a strong performance at home to set us up for the second leg, and we are confident that we can do that.”
Peterborough haven’t raced at the Showground since they were knocked out of the championship chase by Coventry three weeks ago and they will be buoyed by the fact the Bees then went on to record an even more convincing win over the title favourites.
It will be the fifth time the clubs have met in the KO Cup – and ties are all level.
Team boss Trevor Swales said: “We were absolutely gutted to lose to Coventry in the play-off semi final so I can imagine how Poole must be feeling, going down in the Grand Final.
“We were third in the table – Poole were on top, 26 points ahead of the Bees so it must have been such a big shock for them. We have to make sure they don’t bounce back.”
Poole owner Matt Ford admitted: "The lads are still reeling after losing out to Coventry last Monday.
“Failing to win the league silverware hit them hard as they had done little wrong all year and they are determined to sign off their season with something in the trophy cabinet.
“I am sure though that Peterborough will be hoping to catch us on a down and this promises to be another tough week for us."
Poole will be at full strength – including number one Chris Holder who qualified for the 2011 Grand Prix series on Saturday and World Under 21 Champion Darcy Ward who recently retained his title.
The Panthers are still missing Frenchman Mathieu Tresarrieu and will bring in teenager Taylor Poole as his replacement.
(BSPA)