Scorpions looking to win tough play-off group

FLUIDAIR POWER Scunthorpe Scorpions are looking to win their second Premier League Championship in three years, but must first battle through a tough play-off semi-final group also containing reigning champions Somerset & Ipswich.

With the top two from the regular league table, Edinburgh and Somerset, having made their selections, the two groups line-up as follows:

Group A:
Edinburgh, Berwick & Workington.

Group B:
Somerset, Ipswich & Scunthorpe.

Arguably, three out of four of the Premier League’s form teams will all be pitted against each other in Scunthorpe’s group, with only the winners progressing to the final.

The credentials of the three teams in Group B are impressive:
Scunthorpe – 2012 Premier League Champions
Somerset – 2013 Premier League Champions
Ipswich – the winners of four top-flight league championships (1975, 1976, 1984 & 1998).

Scunthorpe’s challenge gets underway a week on Thursday (September 25) with an away meeting at Ipswich’s Foxhall Heath stadium, before the Scorpions entertain the Somerset Rebels at the Eddie Wright Raceway a day later on Friday, September 26.

The full fixture picture for Scunthorpe’s group is as follows:

GROUP B FIXTURES:
Thursday, September 25 – Ipswich v Scunthorpe at Foxhall Heath
Friday, September 26 – Scunthorpe v Somerset (7.30pm) at the Eddie Wright Raceway
Wednesday, October 1 – Somerset v Scunthorpe at the Oak Tree Arena
Thursday, October 2 – Ipswich v Somerset at Foxhall Heath
Friday, October 3 – Scunthorpe v Ipswich (7.30pm) at the Eddie Wright Raceway
Friday, October 10 – Somerset v Ipswich at the Oak Tree Arena

Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey said: “All three teams start equal in our play-off group, and any of the three teams could progress.

“These are massive meetings for the club. Our results in these four meetings will determine whether we contest the play-off final and have the chance to go for another league title. The whole season hinges on what we do from now.

“Every meeting, every race is vital. Each meeting is bound to be hotly contested, and filled with drama and excitement.

“I’ve had the belief all season that this team is capable of producing when it matters most. I believe we can do it, and I think that belief is spreading. We want to be in the final, and we want to win that final.”

HOW THE PREMIER LEAGUE PLAY-OFFS WORK:

The two semi-final groups are determined on a mini-league basis (i.e. two home and two away fixtures for each club), with match points being accumulated as in regular fixtures. In the case of a tie on match points, race points difference is the deciding factor.

The winners of the two groups then meet home and away in the Grand Final, with the aggregate winners becoming the 2014 Premier League Champions.