# 2014 Premier League speedway season

The 2014 Premier League was the second division of British speedway.

## Summary

The season took place between March and October 2014. The Somerset Rebels were the defending champions after winning in 2013. This season saw a change to the line-up of teams, with the Peterborough Panthers dropping down from the Elite League and replacing the Leicester Lions who moved up to take Peterborough's place in the Elite League.
Edinburgh Monarchs, led by Craig Cook and Sam Masters won the treble of League, Knockout Cup and League Cup, while going on a 27 match unbeaten run. Masters and Max Fricke also won the Premier Pairs.

## Final League table

Home: 3W = Home win by 7 points or more; 2W = Home win by between 1 and 6 points
Away: 4W = Away win by 7 points or more; 3W = Away win by between 1 and 6 points; 1L = Away loss by 6 points or less M = Meetings; D = Draws; L = Losses; F = Race points for; A = Race points against; +/- = Race points difference; Pts = Total Points

## 'A' Fixtures & results

| Home \ Away | BER | ED | GLA | IPS | NEW | PET | PLY | RED | RYE | SCU | SHE | SOM | WOR |
| Berwick Bandits | | 48–41 | 55–41 | 49–41 | 55–38 | 35–52 | 52–41 | 32–28 | 63–32 | 47–46 | 59–33 | 49–43 | 55–37 |
| Edinburgh Monarchs | 57–32 | | 58–32 | 56–36 | 57–38 | 51–42 | 61–31 | 59–37 | 57–38 | 59–34 | 67–27 | 55–39 | 63–29 |
| Glasgow Tigers | 37–52 | 43–47 | | 53–40 | 46–43 | 47–45 | 46–44 | 51–39 | 48–41 | 53–37 | 55–40 | 41–51 | 52–41 |
| Ipswich Witches | 60–34 | 45–45 | 45–45 | | 45–45 | 55–40 | 58–36 | 41–34 | 52–38 | 53–39 | 54–36 | 57–35 | 60–36 |
| Newcastle Diamonds | 51–40 | 44–45 | 59–34 | 46–44 | | 52–41 | 61–34 | 39–50 | 54–38 | 67–22 | 53–40 | 54–38 | 44–49 |
| Peterborough Panthers | 52–38 | 50–43 | 46–44 | 47–43 | 54–40 | | 51–31 | 45–45 | 49–40 | 45–44 | 58–38 | 43–50 | 42–36 |
| Plymouth Devils | 43–52 | 40–52 | 53–41 | 52–41 | 48–42 | 52–38 | | 50–41 | 54–41 | 55–40 | 59–37 | 38–40 | 47–37 |
| Redcar Bears | 42–50 | 41–51 | 51–42 | 40–50 | 47–43 | 47–43 | 52–40 | | 48–42 | 50–40 | 53–37 | 47–43 | 47–45 |
| Rye House Rockets | 58–37 | 36–59 | 49–41 | 44–46 | 49–41 | 57–35 | 49–40 | 55–41 | | 59–35 | 52–38 | 37–58 | 34–56 |
| Scunthorpe Scorpions | 62–34 | 43–48 | 57–36 | 55–39 | 58–38 | 58–36 | 52–43 | 54–39 | 60–35 | | 54–39 | 46–44 | 53–37 |
| Sheffield Tigers | 48–42 | 45–47 | 52–41 | 42–51 | 50–40 | 46–44 | 32–30 | 40–38 | 52–38 | 41–49 | | 39–51 | 52–40 |
| Somerset Rebels | 56–34 | 57–35 | 62–30 | 59–31 | 59–35 | 59–25 | 58–34 | 68–24 | 66–26 | 55–35 | 49–40 | | 64–28 |
| Workington Comets | 41–49 | 53–43 | 40–54 | 47–43 | 50–45 | 52–40 | 51–42 | 51–41 | 63–31 | 49–41 | 50–43 | 40–32 | |

## 'B' Fixtures & results

4 extra random matches per team were held counting towards the league standings
| Home \ Away | BER | ED | GLA | IPS | NEW | PET | PLY | RED | RYE | SCU | SHE | SOM | WOR |
| Berwick Bandits | | | | | 52–31 | | | 52–43 | | | | | |
| Edinburgh Monarchs | | | 65–29 | | 48–41 | | | | | | | | |
| Glasgow Tigers | | 36–54 | | | | | | | | | | | ab |
| Ipswich Witches | | | | | | 59–36 | | | 55–40 | | | | |
| Newcastle Diamonds | 51–37 | 42–42 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Peterborough Panthers | | | | 42–47 | | | 47–35 | | | | | | |
| Plymouth Devils | | | | | | 56–40 | | | | | | 54–40 | |
| Redcar Bears | 42–48 | | | | | | | | | 44–46 | | | |
| Rye House Rockets | | | | 42–49 | | | | | | | | 44–49 | |
| Scunthorpe Scorpions | | | | | | | | 46–43 | | | 55–39 | | |
| Sheffield Tigers | | | | | | | | | | 41–49 | | | 52–40 |
| Somerset Rebels | | | | | | | 52–42 | | 72–20 | | | | |
| Workington Comets | | | 48–27 | | | | | | | | 45–45 | | |

## Play Offs

Group 1
| Pos | Team | P | 3w | 2w | D | L | 4w | 3w | D | 1L | L | F | A | Pts |
| 1 | Edinburgh | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 212 | 158 | 13 |
| 2 | Workington | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 172 | 196 | 3 |
| 3 | Berwick | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 170 | 200 | 3 |
Group 2
| Pos | Team | P | 3w | 2w | D | L | 4w | 3w | D | 1L | L | F | A | Pts |
| 1 | Somerset | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 202 | 166 | 7 |
| 2 | Ipswich | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 191 | 177 | 6 |
| 3 | Scunthorpe | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 157 | 207 | 5 |

## Final

First leg
Second leg
Edinburgh were declared League Champions, winning on aggregate 96–95.

## Premier League Knockout Cup

The 2014 Premier League Knockout Cup was the 47th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Edinburgh Monarchs were the winners of the competition.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 26/06 | Sheffield | 45-45 | Berwick |
| 15/06 | Glasgow | 53-37 | Rye House |
| 14/06 | Rye House | 50-40 | Glasgow |
| 26/05 | Scunthorpe | 46-44 | Peterborough |
| 20/05 | Peterborough | 46-43 | Scunthorpe |
| 09/05 | Somerset | 60-30 | Workington |
| 08/05 | Redcar | 47-43 | Plymouth |
| 03/05 | Berwick | 54-36 | Sheffield |
| 03/05 | Workington | 52-38 | Somerset |
| 25/04 | Plymouth | 49-41 | Redcar |
Quarter-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 28/09 | Glasgow | 35-55 | Newcastle |
| 15/09 | Newcastle | 53-37 | Glasgow |
| 25/07 | Edinburgh | 67-23 | Berwick |
| 23/07 | Berwick | 51-39 | Edinburgh |
| 03/06 | Peterborough | 46-44 | Plymouth |
| 06/06 | Plymouth | 50-40 | Peterborough |
| 13/06 | Somerset | 49-41 | Ipswich |
| 05/06 | Ipswich | 65-25 | Somerset |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 12/10 | Newcastle | 44-46 | Edinburgh |
| 10/10 | Edinburgh | 62-27 | Newcastle |
| 26/09 | Plymouth | 47-43 | Ipswich |
| 11/09 | Ipswich | 65-25 | Plymouth |

## Final

First leg
Second leg
Edinburgh were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 105–75.

## Riders' Championship

Simon Stead won the Riders' Championship. The final was held on 21 September at Owlerton Stadium.
| Pos. | Rider | Pts | Total | SF | Final |
| 1 | Simon Stead | 3 3 3 3 1 | 13 | - | 3 |
| 2 | Danny King | 3 3 2 3 3 | 14 | - | 2 |
| 3 | Ulrich Østergaard | 1 1 3 2 3 | 10 | 2 | 1 |
| 4 | Richard Lawson | 3 3 1 3 1 | 11 | 3 | 0 |
| 5 | Stuart Robson | 2 2 2 2 2 | 10 | 1 |
| 6 | Craig Cook | 3 1 2 1 3 | 10 | 0 |
| 7 | Lasse Bjerre | 1 2 0 2 3 | 8 |
| 8 | Kyle Newman | 1 2 2 0 2 | 7 |
| 9 | Jason Garrity | 2 1 1 1 1 | 6 |
| 10 | Theo Pijper | 2 1 1 2 0 | 6 |
| 11 | Matěj Kůs | 0 2 1 3 0 | 6 |
| 12 | Nick Morris | 0 0 3 1 2 | 6 |
| 13 | Josh Grajczonek | 2 3 0 0 | 4 |
| 14 | Steve Worrall | 1 0 0 0 2 | 3 |
| 15 | Ryan Douglas | 0 fx 3 0 | 3 |
| 16 | Morten Risager | 0 0 0 1 1 | 2 |
| 17 | Nathan Greaves (res) | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | James Sarjeant (res) | 0 | 0 |
* f=fell, r-retired, ex=excluded, ef=engine failure t=touched tapes

## Pairs

The Premier League Pairs Championship was held at Oaktree Arena on 11 July. The event was won by Edinburgh Monarchs.
Group A :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Workington | 21 | Grajczonek 13, Bach 8 |
| 2 | Redcar | 21 | Lawson 13, Summers 8 |
| 3 | Peterborough | 20 | Bjerre 13, Ostergaard 7 |
| 4 | Ipswich | 17 | Tungate 8, Risager 8 |
| 5 | Newcastle | 11 | Robson 6 Kerr 5 |
Group B :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Somerset | 25 | Allen 13, Morris 12 |
| 2 | Edinburgh | 20 | Masters 11, Fricke 9 |
| 3 | Sheffield | 17 | Stead 10, Lanham 7 |
| 4 | Berwick | 15 | Bellego 9, Vissing 6 |
| 5 | Plymouth | 13 | Newman 10, Jensen 3 |
Semi finals
* Somerset bt Workington 7–2
* Edinburgh bt Redcar 7–2
Final
* Edinburgh bt Somerset 5–4

## Fours

Somerset Rebels won the Premier League Four-Team Championship, held on 3 August 2014, at the East of England Arena.
Group A :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Somerset | 14 | Allen 5, Morris 4, Aspgren 3, Kurtz B 2 |
| 2 | Scunthorpe | 13 | Jorgensen 5, Douglas 4, Howe 2, Birks 2 |
| 3 | Peterborough | 11 | Bjerre 3, Ostergaard 3, Blackbird 3, Dryml 2 |
| 4 | Newcastle | 10 | King 5, Kerr 2, Robson 2, Lindgren 1 |
Group B :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Edinburgh | 14 | Masters 5, Sedgmen 5, Cook 4, Worrall S 0 |
| 2 | Workington | 14 | Grajczonek 5, Bach 3, Wells 3, Howarth 2 Campton 1 |
| 3 | Redcar | 11 | Lawson 4, Wilkinson 3, Skidmore 2, Summers 2 |
| 4 | Berwick | 9 | Bellego 3, Kus 3, Doolan 2, Vissing 1, Wethers 0 |
Final :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Somerset | 24 | Allen 8, Morris 7, Aspgren 5, Wright 4, Kurtz B 0 |
| 2 | Workington | 18 | Grajczonek 7, Bach 6, Howarth 4, Wells 1 |
| 3 | Scunthorpe | 15 | Howe 6, Douglas 4, Birks 3, Jorgensen 2 |
| 4 | Edinburgh | 15 | Worrall S 5, Sedgmen 4, Masters 3, Cook 3, |

## Final Leading averages

| Rider | Team | Average |
| Craig Cook | Edinburgh | 10.41 |
| Simon Stead | Sheffield | 9.70 |
| Ben Barker | Plymouth | 9.48 |
| Danny King | Newcastle | 9.34 |
| Richard Lawson | Redcar | 9.31 |
| Sam Masters | Edinburgh | 9.12 |
| Lasse Bjerre | Peterborough | 9.02 |
| Oliver Allen | Somerset | 8.83 |
| Max Fricke | Edinburgh | 8.76 |
| Edward Kennett | Rye House | 8.70 |

## Riders & final averages

Berwick
* Claus Vissing 8.11
* Matěj Kůs 7.67
* Kevin Doolan 7.24
* David Bellego 6.83
* Matthew Wethers 6.64
* Steen Jensen 6.31
* Alex Edberg 4.94
* Liam Carr 2.61
Edinburgh
* Craig Cook 10.41
* Sam Masters 9.12
* Max Fricke 8.76
* Steve Worrall 8.67
* Justin Sedgmen 8.31
* Derek Sneddon 5.44
* Aaron Fox 4.00
Glasgow
* Theo Pijper 7.31
* Rusty Harrison 6.97
* Anders Thomsen 6.53
* Kevin Wolbert 6.28
* Kasper Lykke 5.64
* Mark Lemon 5.21
* Dimitri Berge 5.20
* Tero Aarnio 5.00
* Victor Palovaara 2.53
Ipswich
* Richie Worrall 8.06
* Rohan Tungate 8.00
* Morten Risager 7.98
* Gino Manzares 6.84
* Ritchie Hawkins 6.29
* Cameron Heeps 6.14
* Adam Ellis 6.10
Newcastle
* Danny King 9.34
* Stuart Robson 8.59
* Lewis Kerr 7.81
* Ludvig Lindgren 7.41
* Anton Rosén 6.98
* Christian Henry 6.59
* Lewis Rose 5.28
* Chris Mills 4.90
* Simon Nielsen 4.41
* Chris Schramm 4.39
Peterborough
* Lasse Bjerre 9.02
* Ulrich Østergaard 8.40
* Ryan Fisher 8.00
* Aleš Dryml, Jr. 7.90
* Lewis Blackbird 7.17
* Adam Roynon 5.85
* Nicki Barrett 4.71
* Joe Jacobs 4.31
* Oliver Greenwood 4.06
* Richard Hall 3.80
* Max Dilger 3.14
Plymouth
* Ben Barker 9.48
* Kyle Newman 7.18
* Kalle Katajisto 6.81
* Rasmus Jensen 6.80
* Zdeněk Simota 6.41
* James Wright 5.97
* Josef Franc 5.84
* Roland Benko 3.73
* Ben Reade 1.53
Redcar
* Richard Lawson 9.31
* Aaron Summers 8.02
* Hugh Skidmore 7.23
* Mark Lemon 6.07
* Carl Wilkinson 5.99
* Jan Graversen 5.41
* Luke Crang 3.03
* Rafal Konopka 2.89
Rye House
* Edward Kennett 8.70
* Jason Garrity 7.10
* Steve Boxall 6.33
* Mathieu Trésarrieu 5.81
* Anders Mellgren 5.33
* Luke Bowen 5.32
* Jason Bunyan 5.32
* Oliver Greenwood 4.25
* Simon Lambert 1.50
Scunthorpe
* David Howe 7.85
* Nikolai Klindt 7.54
* Josh Auty 7.49
* Thomas Jørgensen 7.14
* Ryan Douglas 7.13
* Ashley Birks 6.71
* Matt Williamson 2.21
Sheffield
* Simon Stead 9.70
* Andre Compton 6.28
* Taylor Poole 6.15
* Ty Proctor 5.96
* Leigh Lanham 5.60
* Ben Wilson 5.54
* Nicolas Covatti 4.84
* Simon Nielsen 4.28
* Josh Bates 3.91
Somerset
* Oliver Allen 8.83
* Nick Morris 8.34
* Pontus Aspgren 8.19
* Charles Wright 7.74
* Brady Kurtz 7.55
* Todd Kurtz 6.79
* Paul Starke 5.93
Workington
* Josh Grajczonek 9.04
* Rene Bach 7.88
* Ricky Wells 7.49
* Kyle Howarth 6.79
* Mason Campton 5.76
* Simon Lambert 5.54
* Ashley Morris 5.54
* Joe Jacobs 4.58
* Chris Mills 3.24