Title-chasing Belle Vue are hoping to end the night with a Rye smile!
THE Belle Vue Aces look to cement their place among this season’s Play Off contenders against Rye House tonight.
A big talking point of the BMR Rockets has centred around their swoop for former Grand Prix star Krzysztof Kasprzak, who controversially came into their line-up as a reserve.
In his two appearances so far, the former Belle Vue No.1 haunted previous club Poole after stomping them with an 11+1 haul before following up at Leicester with 7+1.
The Aces, meanwhile, are locked in an epic top-of-the-table battle with Swindon and Wolverhampton as the Premiership top three continue their heart-thumping fight for control.
On their last visit to Hoddesdon, Belle Vue recovered superbly to edge out their hosts 46-44 in a brilliant last-heat decider.
With Max Fricke still sidelined through injury, team boss Mark Lemon will implement R/R for the young Australian while Adam Ellis steps in at No.4 for the recovering Rohan Tungate.
Lemon said: “It’s really interesting how we’re starting to witness the teams in the middle order stepping up their games in the build-up to the business end of the season.
“Of the three currently battling, I personally find Rye House to be the stand-out side, but their game plan isn’t something we need be concerning ourselves with at this point.
“Until we’re completely locked in that top four, we’re not counting our chickens. We’ve got a job to do and it will take the heart and soul of these boys to see it through to the end.
“The Rockets have produced some interesting performances lately, some which came as a surprise and others where I’d have expected more, given the level of experience in their side. Of course it will be a challenge and we will no doubt miss Max and Rohan. But our boys have come through tougher tests than this.”
Things are just as tight in the National League as the Cool Running Colts look to extend their tabletopping lead against Birmingham on Friday.