Ford determined for Poole to go one better in Championship Knockout Cup

Poole Pirates promoter Danny Ford stressed the desire for his troops to reclaim the SGB Championship Knockout Cup this season.

The Wimborne Road outfit missed out in the last stage of the competition in 2023 after losing to Scunthorpe in the two-legged finale.

They kick-off their cup campaign with a home first leg against Edinburgh Monarchs on Wednesday (7.30pm).

Ford told the club website: “The goal is quite simple. We want to be in the final again and go one better this season.

“To do that, we of course have to start by getting past Edinburgh and with us staging the first leg it is important, not only to win the meeting, but to put a big score on the card so that we go up to Scotland next month with something to defend.”

?? NEXT AT HOME | POOLE v EDINBURGH

?? The Pirates return to action Wednesday night to kick off our KO CUP campaign against the Monarchs!

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??‍?? #PiratePride pic.twitter.com/6GgRfvvcmO

— Poole Pirates Speedway (@poolespeedway) April 19, 2024

Pirates kicked off their campaign with a resounding 61-29 victory over Oxford in their BSN Series opener.

But since then, they have been left kicking their heels after a number of postponed meetings due to rain.  

“With the interruptions to our schedule so far it feels like we will be kick-starting our season once again on Wednesday,” said Ford.

“If we can put in the kind of performance we produced in our only meeting so far this year, then we would find ourselves being just where we want to be."

Pirates are set to be at full strength for the encounter against the Monarchs, who they beat in the final of the competition in 2021.

The second leg of the tie is scheduled for Friday, May 3, at Edinburgh’s Armadale headquarters.