In their fourth season in the sport, Kent SLYDE Kings have yet to experience what it’s like to qualify for a cup final but that wait could possibly be at an end, as the side take their club-record seven match unbeaten run into Monday’s National Trophy match against Mildenhall Fen Tigers. 
Having already won both away matches in the South Group in this year’s NT competition (including a six points win by 42-48 at the Suffolk home of Monday’s visitors), a win at Central Park in the first home match in the NT this term will confirm topping the Group and so qualifying for the final against Birmingham Brummies.
Mildenhall have won this event a record five times (under its various different guises) and certainly have proven over those times of success and in previous visits to Central Park also, that they are not a side who ever lays down; so it promises to be a very exciting night of racing on Monday – with the stakes high for both clubs.
Three riders in the visitors’ ranks know what it’s like to taste success in the NT – survivors from the Fen Tigers’ 2014 victory in the competition: Dan Halsey and the two Connors, Coles and Mountain.
Halsey had perhaps his best year in the sport in 2014 – the former Rye House & Bournemouth man climaxing the campaign the season before last with the National League Riders title (actually the only year since the sport opened at Central Park when a Kent Kings rider didn’t take that title!).
Halsey was skipper of that NT winning side of 2014 (beating Stoke in the two-legged Final) but has relinquished the captaincy to Connor Coles – the hugely likeable lad from Devon having come on leaps and bounds in his confidence since he rode for the Kent Kings in their inaugural National League campaign in 2013.
Namesake in the Mildenhall ranks for a third season now, is the very promising Connor Mountain – a hugely impressive visitor at Central Park earlier this season when he finished runner up in the GB Under 21s semi-final: beaten to the chequered flag only by the SLYDE Kings’ maximum man that night, James Shanes.
Also in that meeting was another Fen Tigers man, Alfie Bowtell – who has certainly showed with his 2015 club. Rye House Raiders that he can be a more than useful points scorer at Central Park.
Returning to the Fen Tigers ranks this term is an absolute legend of the sport, Jon Armstrong. Mancunian Armstrong achieved a unique distinction just yesterday (Friday) when he rode for the Fen Tigers in the first ever meeting at the brand-new Belle Vue track in his home city having raced previously at both of the Manchester club’s earlier two homes.
The Fen Tigers are in the middle of an injury crisis in the reserve berths: GB U-21 semi-finalist Tweedsider Luke Ruddick broke a bone in his arm in that NT match with the Kings at his adopted home track and his replacement in the side Sam Bebee was an injury victim himself in last week’s defeat for his side at King’s Lynn, with Rob Parker suffering concussion in the same match.
Some late decisions will be needed for the Mildenhall management before their septet is confirmed for the visit to Kent; which starts at 6.30pm (gates open at 5pm) on Monday 9th. May.
