Meeting Preview: The Gladiators V The Pirates. PlayOff QF
Team news update:
Hans Andersen is a very late call off due to aggravating a shoulder injury.
Adam Roynan comes in as Guest.
The Plymouth Westcolour Gladiators will make a third attempt to stage their Championship Play Off Quarter Final tie against the Poole Pirates at The Coliseum on Tuesday evening, tapes up at 7.00pm.
Having seen heavy rain destroy any hopes of staging the fixture on the 6th and 13th September, the Westcolour Gladiators are extremely confident that the sustained spell of drier weather in the past 5 days will ensure a perfect track surface and ideal early Autumn conditions and hope for a big crowd to enjoy possibly the biggest fixture in the clubs recent past.
With Poole holding a substantial 60-30 points advantage from their home leg last week, the Westcolour Gladiators will hope to engage their “never say die, mission impossible spirit” that has been a huge part of their injury ravaged season and seen them win a deserved place in the Playoffs against all the odds.
Club Promoter Mark Phillips has issued a rallying call to all of the clubs core and occasional supporters and to speedway fans across the wider South West, to come along and give the Westcolour Gladiators as much support and noise and to create an atmosphere that his gallant Gladiators can work off.
He said:
“Nothing is impossible in sport and in speedway if you have belief. Who would have believed we could get this far with all of the problems we have had on and off the track with injuries, suspensions, weather delays and an arson attack on the stadium, all of which have cost us tens of thousands of pounds in lost revenue and unexpected costs.
Who would have believed that in the midst of all of this we could already have thrashed the runaway league leaders, the Leicester Lions by 60 points to 30 points at home in April, destroyed the Pirate ship by 53 points to 37 at home in May, travelled to Poole and got a 45-45 draw in June amidst some highly debatable decisions on the night and the loss of one of our top riders under questionable tactics, and fought on through July and August with our talisman suspended after taking, excessive amounts in the eyes of the Sports authorities, of legitimate prescription medication following some extremely painful injuries.
We cannot deny that we have a huge mountain to climb, but we will not be throwing in the towel until it is mathematically impossible, and if we can feed off the passionate home support and exploit a little bit of complacency that I detect from Dorset way, then why can’t we surprise the speedway world and give one of the divisions top Clubs another hot Devon welcome and another good thrashing on the night?
We really do need the South West’s speedway supporters to come out and back and support us. It’s a night to ignore the option of watching on TV and to get as many of you down to The Coliseum as possible, to create a wall of noise and atmosphere that will resonate for a long time in the history of our club.
We appreciate that times are hard for us all, like all speedway and sports clubs we’ll have to take a long hard look over the winter to see what we can and can’t afford to do in 2023, but it would be fantastic to be making those decisions backed and buoyed by our biggest crowd of the season and indeed the biggest since we came to The Coliseum and rescued the sport in Devon.
Do we feel that everything has conspired against us this season? Yes we probably do, have we sat and sulked or moaned about it? No we haven’t and will we try to use all of that pain and anger in a positive way to generate something spectacular? You can bet your last pound that we will.”
The Westcolour Gladiators will bring in multi times British Champion Scott Nicholls and the experienced and one of the leading Championship point scoring riders in Aaron Summers from the Oxford Cheetahs as guests for the injured Edward Kennett and Michael Palm Toft, and will operate the R/R Rider Replacement facility for the suspended Ben Barker and will line up:
Scott Nicholls
Ben Morley
R/R Ben Barker
Aaron Summers
Hans Andersen
Lee Complin
Connor Coles
No 8 – Ben Trigger
The Club would like to confirm that SEASON TICKETS are VALID for this fixture to replace the League Fixture that was lost when Newcastle pulled out of the sport in early summer. Season Tickets should be shown at the turnstiles as usual. The Club have contacted ALL Season Ticket Holders to confirm this.
There will be the time-honoured Moment of Reflection for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II prior to the Match following her sad death, which we were not able to have last week and which we are sure that ALL Supporters will welcome and respect.
Tickets are available ONLINE now via our Online Ticketing Portal here:
Those holding pre-booked ONLINE Match Tickets from the cancelled Fixtures on the 6th and 13th September or the earlier cancelled Fixture v Glasgow, can use them for this Fixture. Please bring proof of Purchase (paper or electronic copy along with you. Those who paid on the Night v Glasgow who hold Re-Admission Tickets can also use them to enter this Fixture but you must ensure that you have the Ticket Stub with you.
Tickets are also available via Cash + Card on the night, but the best way to secure a Seat in the NHS STAND (Home Straight) is to book early ONLINE. The First Bend VIP Stand is already SOLD OUT.
We should also point out that DISABLED Carer Free Tickets are no longer unfortunately available ONLINE. A small but not insignificant number have been abusing this FREE Entry privilege in sufficient numbers to be detrimental financially to the Club. The FREE CARER Offer is still available but via Cash Payment on the Turnstiles for ONE Free Carer where the Disabled person will require Proof of Disability in the form of authorised documentation from either a qualified NHS Doctor / Consultant or the relevant DWP paperwork. We are sorry if genuinely Disabled persons are impacted by this but unfortunately a number who do not have the Clubs interests at heart have resulted in this regrettable procedural change. It is also not fair on the vast majority who invested their hard earned cash in the Club via Season and Match Tickets honestly each week.
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PLEASE NOTE – Access by Card payment at the Stadium is by accessing the Clubs Online Ticket portal on a suitable mobile / android device. There are no specific Card readers. If you do not have a suitable device to allow your secure Card payment to be collected on the Gate, or before you enter from the comfort of your Car in the Park + Ride Car Park (using this link ); there is a secure CASHPOINT at McDonalds Restaurant which you pass when turning in to Coypool Road
A POLITE REQUEST has been made by The Club Management and Turnstile / Entry Staff. It would be appreciated if you could please have EXACT CHANGE for Admission and Programme available if at all possible to avoid delays, especially at peak time between 6.15 and 7.00pm. It would also be very much appreciated, that if you are Entering by Car with multiple occupants, if one person in the vehicle; could collect the Money for Admission and any Programmes and the Car Park Fee to hand over to Gate Staff, as to process one overall transfer of Money will be a lot speedier than 2,3,4 or even 5 separate transactions. Your cooperation in this matter to help speed access for all and to avoid queues and to improve the Customer experience for all. THANK YOU
We’ve asked all season that you become the vital 8th man and the lads would very much welcome your vociferous and enthusiastic support once again for one MASSIVE final effort, so please bring along a friend and help us to show everyone what a wonderful night of entertainment we get every Tuesday at 7 pm at The Coliseum. The past few months have been tremendously difficult for us all with injuries, some controversial decisions going against us and some utterly mindless vandalism that will cost many thousands of pounds to replace let alone the stress it causes Mark and all of the wonderful support Team.
PLEASE rally around the Club and The Team, bring a friend and spread the word .Your support is always worth extra points and together we can beat all the odds and celebrate success together at the end of the season. These are tough times and in tough times the tough get going and there’s no one tougher than your Promoter, Team Manager and Team…. let’s all join in and beat the odds together. #GladiatorsREADY
Gates Open 5.30pm
Pre-Match Rider Parade 6.50pm
Tapes Up 7.00pm
There are numerous Food and Drink (Alcoholic and Non Alcoholic) outlets around the Stadium serving locally produced products.
Numerous Toilets / Disabled Toilets and Washing Facilities
Our new for 2022 Track Shop is doing a roaring trade with NEW lines every week and well worth a visit.
Car Parking onsite £2.00
36 page Colour Programme £3.00
Image Credit: Jon Sproad