TOP TWO GOING HEAD TO HEAD FOR GRAND FINAL GLORY

The MaxiCAB Knockout Cup winners return to Wimborne Road on Wednesday for arguably their toughest test of the season, under the ringing endorsement of former World Champion Gary Havelock that they are "just sensational."

'Havvy' saw the Pirates secure the club's 32nd trophy since Matt Ford took control of the club, when they won at Redcar last Friday, but this week's opponents are the side that topped the league table after completion of the regular fixtures , the Glasgow Tigers. It is the Scottish club that are the team to have prevented the Pirates from winning the Championship since the Pirates stepped down to the second tier for the 2021 season.

Havelock proclaimed "I know I might sound like a stuck record but these Pirates are just amazing. They keep raising the bar higher every week and you know, it is such a long hard season that when you get to the play-offs and finals you can run out of steam. But these boys just build a head. I really believe that if they don't do the treble again it will be a real travesty."

To complete the second part of the treble the Pirates will need to repeat something very similar to their KO cup semi-final exploits against Glasgow, a tie they won 93-87, having established a 14 point home advantage. 

If Poole have been a regular fixture in play-off finals, so too has the Tigers' number one Chris Harris who has his very own place in the hearts of most Poole fans  because of his passion, brilliance and ability to win races from the most unlikeliest of positions. He will of course come up against the rider of the twenty-twenties, Richard Lawson, who has achieved an incredible domination of the Wimborne Road track this season, in particular.

Lawson and Harris will be joined by their respective regular team-mates as both sides are able to declare full strength sides for this meeting, which means an opportunity for Poole fans to see Villads Nagel live in action. The biggest meeting of the season for both clubs, it is bound to be a tense affair as most previous encounters between the clubs have proven.

The tie will be concluded at Glasgow on Friday (17th October).

Teams: Poole (TM Neil Middleditch) 1 Richard Lawson 2 Tobias Thomsen 3 Lewis Kerr 4 Zach Cook (Capt) 5 Anders Rowe 6 Paul Starke 7 William Cairns
Glasgow (TM Cameron Brown) 1 Chris Harris (Capt) 2 Villads Nagel 3 Dan Thompson 4 Leon Flint 5 Kyle Howarth 6 Freddy Hodder 7 Max Perry