Express & Star

Wolverhampton Wolves and Cradley Heathens targeting key victories

Wolverhampton skipper Rory Schlein says his side must regroup ahead of an important Premiership trip to Belle Vue tonight (7.30pm).

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Parrys International Wolves suffered a disappointing 56-34 defeat at King’s Lynn last time out as Swindon leapfrogged them back into fourth place.

And while Schlein acknowledges Wolves’ record at the National Speedway Stadium isn’t great, he insists the team are determined to fight to upset the odds.

“There’s pressure going into every meeting and it doesn’t change the fact that we need points everywhere we go,” Schlein said. “It’s not over until the fat lady sings and we’re not done yet.

“We have to regroup it’s as simple as that; we’ve got three away meetings left and a couple at home and there’s no reason why we can’t win them all, we’ve certainly got the side capable of doing that.”

Belle Vue: Max Fricke, Steve Worrall, Dan Bewley, Dimitri Berge, Kenneth Bjerre, Jaimie Lidsey, Nikolaj Busk Jakobsen.

Wolverhampton: Jacob Thorssell, Luke Becker, Rory Schlein, Nick Morris, Sam Masters, Kyle Howarth, Ryan Douglas.

Meanwhile, Cradley will be looking to keep their play-off push going when they host Plymouth at Monmore tonight (7.30pm).

The Anchor Logistics Heathens currently sit just outside the top four and know three league points are a must against the Gladiators.

And heat-leader Danny Halsey is keen to see a solid team effort all-round to cover the absence of youngster Tom Spencer, who was hurt in a crash at Saturday’s abandoned fixture at Leicester.

“I don’t think we’ve quite done what we could as a team yet because three or four of us will have a good one and the others will struggle for one reason or another,” Halsey said. “So it would be nice for us to all fire at the same time at some point and hopefully we can do that between now and the end of the season.

“We’re still right in that play-off mix and there’s no reason why we can’t still win some silverware this year.”

Club bosses have again made the meeting free for all children – and riders will also be available on entry to the stadium from 6.45pm to sign autographs and have pictures with fans.

Heathens will also be holding their annual collection for the Speedway Riders’ Benevolent Fund.

Cradley: Max Clegg, Luke Harris, Tom Spencer R/R, Danny Halsey, Jack Smith, Sheldon Davies, Harry McGurk.

Plymouth: Ben Wilson, Adam Extance R/R, David Wallinger, Nathan Stoneman, Richard Andrews, Adam Sheppard, Jamie Bursill.

Also, Former Wolves title-winning skipper Fredrik Lindgren defied a horror crash to top the Scandinavian FIM Speedway Grand Prix podium in Malilla on Saturday.

Lindgren – who is now fifth in the World Championship – triumphed in the final ahead of new series leader Leon Madsen, Maciej Janowski and Artem Laguta.

Three-time champion Tai Woffinden, working his way back to full fitness after injury, scored six points and is 15th overall.