Battle
of the Tigers
Posted 09/04/05
With the bonus point almost certainly out
of reach, tomorrows meeting with the Sheffield Tigers is all about
restoring some respectability after a heavy defeat down there last
Thursday.
Sheffield have still to win on the road this season
but have riders capable of causing problems for Glasgow, none more
so that Sean Wilson. After missing most of last season through injury
he has already shown this season that he has come back just as good
as he was before the injury.
Andre Compton may not be the most popular visitor
to Ashfield but he rides the track very well and was involved in one
of the best races of the season at Ashfield last year when Sheffield
visited in July. Ricky Ashworth has had a good
start to the season despite struggling on a recent visit to Stoke
and although he will not be as dominant as at home he will be competitive.
The weak links in the main body of the team may be Hall and Ben Wilson
although both have shown improvement on smaller tracks.
Both Sheffield reserves will be seeing the Ashfield
circuit for the first time and it is difficult to determine how they
will go. Cooper was a target for many clubs during the close season,
something that speaks for itself, but being a grasstracker you would
expect him to take a little longer to adapt to smaller tracks. Legault
will need time to settle but is very much an unknown quantity.
Glasgow will be boosted again by the return from
injury of James Cockle, hopefully not too soon a return. Trent has
been riding very well at home in particular and should come out on
top in the battle of the reserves. After a minor blip at Sheffield
George appears to be continuing his steady form and neither he or
Shane will be easily beaten at Ashfield although with Wilson and Compton
in opposition we could be in for some entertaining racing. Once again
a lot comes down to the middle order. Jamie Birkinshaw showed a marked
improvement his last home meeting and hopefully he can build on this
despite his poor showing at Berwick tonight. Matthew and Paul will
be working hard to try and overcome their recent poor form at home
and a lot will depend on whether they can turn things around.
The bonus point is well out of reach but if Glasgow
can take advantage of the slightly weaker Sheffield middle order they
can perhaps start to rebuild the confidence of some of the out of
form riders. It is likely to be a close meeting with plenty of entertainment
value.
