Scorpions chase cup progression

HEB Scunthorpe Scorpions are defending an eight-point lead in the second leg of their Knockout Cup tie at Edinburgh’s Armadale stadium tonight (Saturday, 7pm), but promoter Rob Godfrey insists they are out not only to progress, but to win the meeting.

Scorpions picked up a 49-41 victory over Monarchs in the first leg at the Eddie Wright Raceway on April 14th, and are seeking to emulate last season, when they reached the cup final.

Tonight’s fixture is now Scunthorpe’s only fixture of the weekend, after last night’s home clash against Newcastle was called off at lunchtime, due to a waterlogged track.

Godfrey explained: “An eight-point lead isn’t that much, so instead of trying to defend that lead, we’re going to go to Edinburgh with the mind-set of winning the meeting.

“Edinburgh are normally very strong around their own track, but that hasn’t been the case so far this season – Berwick pushed them very close last week.

“We’ve spotted an opportunity and we plan to take it. We reached the cup final last season, and we’d love to go one better this season and win the competition. But, to do that, you have to take one match at a time, and that starts with getting the required result at Armadale tonight.”

Expected teams for tonight:

Edinburgh Monarchs: 1. Ricky Wells, 2. Justin Sedgmen, 3. Josh Pickering, 4. Joel Andersson, 5. Cameron Heeps, 6. William Lawson, 7. Luke Ruddick.

HEB Scunthorpe Scorpions: 1. Josh Auty, 2. Danny Ayres, 3. Jason Garrity (captain), 4. Stefan Nielsen, 5. Jake Allen (pictured), 6. Ryan Kinsley, 7. Josh Bailey.