Time for the First Semifinal of METALKAS 2. Ekstraliga. Will #ORZECHOWAOSADA PSŻ Do It Again? (#POZRYB Preview)
31.08.2024 08:59
After very exciting quarterfinals in METALKAS 2. Ekstraliga, it’s time for the next stage of the competition: the semifinals. In the first one, #ORZECHOWAOSADA PSŻ Poznań will face INNPRO ROW Rybnik.
The first round of the Poznań-Rybnik rivalry will take place on the track in the capital of Greater Poland, as INNPRO ROW ranked higher in the table after the quarterfinals. The facility in Poznań has already hosted riders from Silesia at the start of the season. At that time, Rybnik was on top, winning 48:42, with the most points scored by Brady Kurtz (currently the most effective player in the league), Rohan Tungate, and Ryan Douglas.
However, four and a half months have passed since that match, and the next two-legged tie will determine the fate of both teams. #ORZECHOWAOSADA PSŻ finished fifth after the regular season, which meant they faced the favored ABRAMCZYK POLONIA in the quarterfinals. Poznań started their fight for the semifinals boldly, winning by fifteen points at home, which was quite a surprise. The return fixture played at the Bydgoszcz facility, where Tomasz Bajerski’s riders hadn’t lost a match yet, was not as easy. After several falls and three races, the hosts almost made up the entire deficit, setting the score at 15:2. It only got worse for Adam Skórnicki’s protégés from there. After the tenth race, ABRAMCZYK POLONIA ‘s lead grew to nineteen points, which meant the season was over for the yellow-black team, or they would advance as a lucky loser depending on the results of other matches. The guests’ comeback began in the fourth series and ended at the finish line of the fifteenth race when Oleksandr Loktayev‘s heroic ride secured the crucial thirty-eight points and a historic advance for his team to the next phase of the competition where they will face INNPRO ROW Rybnik.
Antoni Skupień’s team also won their quarterfinal two-legged tie with CELLFAST WILKAMI. In the first match in Krosno, the hosts were better, snatching victory from Rybnik only in the nominated heats. In the return fixture, INNPRO ROW confidently made up for the losses, defeating their rivals 51:39, though not without some small problems, as the beginning of the match did not belong to the hosts. However, an evenly scoring team turned out to be a guarantee of a good result. The trio Kurtz–Jamróg–Bloedorn scored exactly ten points each, with additional contributions from Grzegorz Walasek and Rohan Tungate.
In the match between #ORZECHOWAOSADA PSŻ Poznań and INNPRO ROW Rybnik, the latter seems to be the natural favorite, but the conclusion after all the quarterfinals was that no one should be written off in speedway, and the performance of the day will decide who advances to the METALKAS 2. Ekstraliga final.
31.08, 16:30 #ORZECHOWAOSADA PSŻ Poznań vs INNPRO ROW Rybnik
LIVE: CANAL+ Sport5 / CANAL+ online
Studio: Piotr Bugajny, Patryk Malitowski
Commentary: Mateusz Dziopa, Wojciech Dankiewicz
Reporters: Julia Pożarlik, Natalia Pietrucha
Referee: Michał Sasień
Track Commissioner: Paweł Stangret
After a few seasons break, fans will once again be able to choose Riders of the Match. Voting will start after the 7th race of each METALKAS 2. Ekstraliga match, i.e., after the end of the second series of starts. The appropriate tab will be available in the Ekstraliga mobile app. The voting will end after the 15th race.
After each round of METALKAS 2. Ekstraliga, voting for the Rider of the Round will begin on CANAL+ Speedway’s Facebook. Fans will choose among the winners of individual matches in a special post. CANAL+ will also announce who received this title in the given round.
Download the Ekstraliga app:
Marcin Rusewicz
