PREVIEW: POOLE v EDINBURGH - PLAY-OFF GROUP FIXTURE

18/09/23

It is going to be a well-worn phrase but Wednesday night (20th September) is a 'must win' for the Wessex Marine Pirates as they go into their final home group play-off fixture against the Edinburgh Stellar Monarchs.

After salvaging a match victory over Scunthorpe following the fifteen-heat draw which earned the Scorpions a vital away point, the Pirates have no room for error if they are to top the group and proceed into their thirteenth play-off final, and third successive appearance in a Championship level showdown.

Poole promoter Dan Ford said "I can't emphasise just how important Wednesday night is. Although we took the win last week, the point that Scunthorpe picked up has put considerable pressure on us now and effectively we need to win our remaining three meetings, starting with the Monarchs. We really put Edinburgh to the sword when they visited us in August and there is no doubt we have to replicate that performance on Wednesday night. On paper you would have us down for a win but as we saw against Scunthorpe teams are visiting us looking to raise their game, so nothing can be taken for granted."

It was against the Edinburgh Monarchs that Poole recorded their highest aggregate margin over the regular league programme, outscoring the Scottish capital side by 48 points following a 59-31 home win and a 55-35 triumph at Armadale.
The Pirates have named an unchanged one to seven from last Wednesday whilst Edinburgh have a mandatory team change following a 30-day SCB suspension imposed on Craig Cook who is deemed to be withholding his services. Plymouth's Kyle Howarth deputises for the Monarchs who are captained by Josh Pickering, who top scored for them, when they visited last month, with a paid twelve return.

Teams
Poole - 1 Richard Lawson 2 Anders Rowe 3 Ben Cook 4 Zach Cook 5 Steve Worrall (Capt) 6 Kyle Newman 7 Joe Thompson - Team manager Neil Middleditch
Edinburgh - 1 Kyle Howarth (Guest) 2 Lasse Fredriksen 3 Kye Thomson 4 Michele 'Paco' Castagna 5 Josh Pickering (Capt) 6 Dayle Wood 7 Bastian Borke - Team manager John Campbell