Ace Lambert set to miss Diamonds’ showdown with the Comets

NEWCASTLE Diamonds are again without British and European Under-21 champion Robert Lambert as they face Workington Comets in a SGB Championship clash at Byker tomorrow.

Lambert’s Polish club Lublin are racing the first leg of a promotion/ relegation play-off and he is committed to that fixture instead.

Incidentally, the return leg of the play-off is set for Sunday, October 8, so Stuart Robson will take Lambert’s place as partner to Steve Worrall in the SGB Championship Pairs event at Sheffield that same day.

Tomorrow’s meeting against Workington will start one hour later than usual, ie at 7.30, to allow fans who are also Newcastle United supporters to get to Byker after the Liverpool match finishes.

The Diamonds have no choice but to track local lad Josh Embleton at No.1 in Lambert’s place and, hopefully, it will be third time lucky for him as bad weather has wrecked his chances on two previous occasions.

This will be Workington’s fourth visit to Tyneside this year, following on from two stirring Knockout Cup ties, the first of which ended with the aggregate score 90-90, and brought about a replay that the Diamonds won 92-87 in a last-race decider.

The Comets, however, triumphed, 47-43, on their last trip over from Cumbria in July, bagging three league points, and the Sapphire Engineeringbacked Diamonds, currently one place higher than Workington in the table, are keen to avoid a repeat.

Team manager George English said: “Even with a weakened side and facing British champion Craig Cook, I believe we can bring the Comets down to earth.

“I know Josh Embleton will do his best to impress and with the rest of the side at full strength, we should have enough to send Workington away empty-handed this time.”

Newcastle and Glasgow are looking at Friday, October 6, at Ashfield, and Monday, October 9, at Byker as possible dates for their Knockout Cup quarter-final clash.