[D]ates have been agreed between Newcastle and Workington to replay their Knockout Cup first round tie, which will now take place on Sunday 25th June, with BOTH legs taking place on the same day.
The first attempt at running the tie saw each club win their home leg by an identical 49-41 score-line and since then both clubs have been working behind the scenes to try and find dates to race the replay and, with such dates in short supply, they came up with the idea of a day of speedway to decide their Knockout Cup tie.
This means that Workington will face off against the Diamonds at Derwent Park first, at 1:00pm on the afternoon of Sunday 25th June, and then in the away leg at Newcastle’s Brough Park that evening, starting at the slightly later time of 7.30pm.
The timing allows fans to attend both meetings and with this in mind the promotions have agreed that it will be possible to purchase a ticket on the day to attend both meetings for £25 (for adults).
Steve Whitehead, Co-Promoter at the Comets, said: “We would like to thank a few people in supporting us in getting this fixture on; firstly Newcastle Speedway for being flexible and moving back their start time, then we have our landlords, the rugby club, St John Ambulance and doctor, along with all our hard working staff to allow this to happen. Hopefully plenty of Newcastle and Workington fans will take advantage of the offer of a discounted ticket for entry to both meetings.”
Meanwhile, Comets team manager Tony Jackson added: “This will be a long and tiring day for the riders but it is the same for both teams, which is why it is possible.
“Originally this was the date of one of our league visits to Newcastle, which will now be re-arranged. Racing two legs in one day is nothing new in speedway, although it is rare, but on this occasion from looking at the rider availability of each side it was the only solution to the problem.
“In fact in the recent past Newcastle have done such a thing with Glasgow, while for the Comets this is the first time since the sport returned to the town in 1999 that they have done this. However, some of our older supporters may recall that back in 1973 and 1974 we did a similar thing with our then Cumbrian rivals Barrow.”
As when the two clubs met in the original staging of the tie, the aggregate winner of this contest will not only progress to the next round of the competition, where they will meet Glasgow over two legs, but will also become the 2017 winners of the ‘Ian Thomas Shield’.
With the new speedway season now well underway there are sponsorship packages for all budgets available with the club and for home meetings on request from Dan on 01900 813999 or via email [email protected]
COMETS UPCOMING FIXTURES:
- Thursday 22nd June at 7:30pm: Ipswich v Workington (SGB Championship)
- Sunday 25th June at 1:00pm: Workington v Newcastle (Knockout Cup 1st round Replay, 1st leg)
- Sunday 25th June at 7:30pm: Newcastle v Workington (Knockout Cup 1st round Replay, 2nd leg)
