Friday, July 25, 2008
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TOUGH TASK AHEAD AFTER SHEFFIELD DEFEAT

By Bryn Williams - Friday, April 25, 2008
WIGHTLINK Islanders need to pull back a 14-point deficit against the Sheffield Tigers at Smallbrook on Tuesday, if they are to progress to the next stages of the Premier League KO Cup.
This follows a 52-38 defeat for skipper Jason Bunyan and his men at Owlerton Stadium, Sheffield, last night (Thursday) in the first leg of their second-round tie.
Two thirds of the way through the match, after ten of the 15 heats, the score stood at Sheffield 31 Isle of Wight 29 and it looked as if the Islanders might even go on to pull off a shock win.
Sadly, it was not to be and while it is certainly not going to be easy for the Islanders to pull back that big deficit on Tuesday, co-promoter Dave Pavitt believes it is possible.
"Obviously I'd much prefer it if we had scored more points last night and kept the scoreline closer," he said. "But I'm still confident that, with the second leg on our own circuit, we can make it through to the next round.
"The lads still believe they are in with a good chance, as indeed I do, and I'm hoping our fans turn out in force to cheer them on throughout the match and encourage them all the way."
Meanwhile, Wightlink Islanders have accepted an invitation to send a side to Sky Sport Elite League club Eastbourne to take them on in an inter-league challenge tomorrow night (Saturday) at Arlington Stadium and our side will be bolstered by the inclusion of Poole's top Aussie star, Davey Watt, who has not forgotten his roots. He first raced for Wightlink Islanders in 2001 when he first arrived in the UK from his native Queensland as something of an unknown quantity and has since gone on to success on the international stage.
He comes into the Wightlink Islanders side as a replacement for Glen Phillips, away riding in a top-quality longtrack meeting in Germany, an appearance organised prior to Eastbourne's inviation for tomorrow.
• On Tuesday, May 6, Sky Sports TV cameras will be at Smallbrook for the home league match. There will be a special offer for all attending on the night, details of which will be announced later.