Scorpions into play-offs for first time in 7 years

ATTIS INSURANCE Scunthorpe Scorpions have qualified for the league-deciding Championship play-offs, after Birmingham Brummies lost at Glasgow’s Ashfield stadium tonight (Friday).

Brummies required a win or a draw to pip Scorpions, but instead it was Glasgow Tigers who took a 49-41 victory, to keep alive their hopes of a top two place and a bye in the first round (quarter-finals) of the play-offs.

It’s been an anxious wait for Scorpions, since they completed their own fixtures with a 50-34 victory over table-topping Poole Pirates at the Eddie Wright Raceway a couple of weeks ago.

Scorpions have qualified in the sixth and final qualifying position and will face the third-placed team in the quarter-finals. There are two meetings, Leicester vs Kent (Saturday) and Glasgow vs Leicester (Sunday), that will determine who Scorpions will face. There’s a faint chance it could be Redcar, but it’s most likely to be Glasgow or Leicester.

Scunthorpe were written off by many ‘experts’ within the sport before the season started and tipped to finish towards the bottom of the league. But instead Scorpions, backed by some awesome form around the EWR spent much of the season in second or third and even went top for a few nights after a 51-39 victory at Birmingham in July.

It was ultimately Scunthorpe’s double over Brummies that made all the difference in the battle for sixth place.

Scorpions’ promoter Rob Godfrey exclaimed: “If you had said at the beginning of the year that Scunthorpe would get in the play-offs, people would have laughed, so to do it is great!

“It’s been a nervous wait over the last couple of weeks, but we had done all that we could, and then had to see how the other teams performed in their remaining meetings.

“It all starts anew from now. It doesn’t matter if you’ve finished first or finished sixth – from now on, it’s all about aggregate victories and getting through each round.

“Our strength this season has been our home form around the Eddie Wright Raceway, and we need to maintain that, while pushing teams as close as we can on our travels.”

It’s the first time that Scunthorpe have reached the play-offs since 2014, and nine years since the Scorpions won the play-offs in 2012.

There are four Friday night tracks in the play-offs and Scorpions have second priority of race-night of those four tracks, behind Edinburgh, who it is impossible for Scunthorpe to face in the quarter-finals.

The opening play-off meeting is most likely to take place at the Eddie Wright Raceway next Friday (October 1). But this will be confirmed in due course, after Scunthorpe’s quarter-final opponents are known.

Graphic by DAN PALMER