Eastbourne Eagles will be asking for a little help from their friends as they endeavour to get back on the winning track at Arlington stadium this Saturday evening (7.30 p.m. start time) as the Peterborough Panthers pay=2 0their second visit of the 2009 campaign to Sussex to do battle for Elite League points.

With international commitments and Speedway Grand Prix qualification taking a toll on the strengths of both septets, the Eagles will be missing the services of both skipper Davey Watt as well as Lukas Dryml while the visitors will be devoid of the talents of the elder Dryml, Ales as well as number one Dane Kenneth Bjerre. Such instances quite clearly prove challenging to a team especially with play off qualification still within the grasp of both. Eastbourne co-promoter and Team Manager Trevor Geer in particular has had a trying few days as he endeavoured to assemble his team ahead of the clash with rider availability seemingly at a premium in the search for guest replacements. Having made numerous calls throughout the early part of the week, Geer will undoubtedly remain grateful to Wolverhampton duo Adam Skornicki and Nicolai Klindt for answering his plea for assistance particularly if they can help the Eagles repeat their earlier defeat of the Panthers at the venue, Peterborough providing pretty stubborn re
sistance on their previous visit before eventually succumbing to a 50-43 reverse on May 23rd.

They will undoubtedly have to hit the ground running, along with the remainder of the Eagles number however if collectively they are to contain the threat posed by the men from the East of England and importantly prevent a third successive home reverse.

Just to add some spice to an already interesting and too close to call contest, the Panthers will surely be conducting their business with an element of National pride as their team, which most likely is unprecedented in the British Elite League will be composed entirely of Danes. Certainly their number already contained a strong Scandinavian flavour previously but although Bjerre will be missing, Peterborough opting to use the Rider Replacement facility for him, Czech Republican Ales Dryml’s absence will be covered by Belle Vue’s Ulrich Ostergaard, another Dane who Eastbourne supporters will surely recall played a starring role in the Aces shock victory at Arlington a fortnight ago.

With new averages coming into force, Lewis Bridger moves up the line up to adopt the number one berth, Watt moving to three with Dryml still at five, the positions that guests Skornicki and Klindt will occupy on Saturday night.

The good news for Eagles fans is that the normally potent reserve pair duo of Simon Gustafsson and Ricky Kling are preserved and providing the former has overcome the problems that blighted him in three pointless outings to kick off his night in the home defeat by Swindon last Monday, the evidence of his final two rides suggesting he had, the Sussex contingent will surely look to this quarter for some big points as they endeavour to overcome the Panthers.

The two teams were set to be thrust into combat last night (Thursday) at the East of England Showground when hopefully an encouraging performance by their regular side will provide the ideal base from which the Eagles can build as acquaintances are renewed once more at Arlington tomorrow.

The Eagles badly need a win, not only to restore confidence and prevent a season during which they have performed heroically going into freefall, but with them still mathematically well in with a chance of a play off berth they will be sure to be contesting every point until the fat lady finally starts singing.

Equally the Panthers will surely view this fixture as an ideal opportunity to augment their own push for a place in the sections top four, the side currently residing in fifth place just below main rivals for the hallowed position, Lakeside and Coventry who occupy third and fourth.

Once again the Eagles management will hope that the Sussex faithful, whose support is highly valued will be in good voice to help them through as they attempt to re-ignite their stuttering season.     < /div>
 
Teams :
 
Eagles : 1. Lewis Bridger, 2. Rider Replacement for David Norris, 3. Adam Skornicki (Guest for Davey Watt), 4. Cameron Woodward, 5. Nicolai Klindt (Guest for Lukas Dryml), 6. Simon Gustafsson, 7. Ricky Kling
 
Panthers : 1. Niels K. Iversen, 2. Ulrich Ostergaard (Guest for Ales Dryml), 3. Mads Korneliussen, 4. Kenneth Hansen, 5. Rider Replacement for Kenneth Bjerre, 6. Henning Bager, 7. Claus Vissing