KING'S Lynn chief Buster Chapman is predicting a cliffhanger in Wednesday night's Premier Trophy final, second leg against Edinburgh at the Norfolk Arena.
KING'S Lynn chief Buster Chapman is predicting a cliffhanger in Wednesday night's Premier Trophy final, second leg against Edinburgh at the Norfolk Arena. (7.45pm)
Chapman believes it could take last-heat fireworks to separate the top two after Lynn's 54-41 defeat in the first leg at Armadale.
"I still remember about 10 years back when we took Ipswich to a last-heat decider in the KO Cup and Shane Parker passed Tony Rickardsson from the back on the last lap to clinch the meeting," he said. "The tension was nerve-racking and the celebrations that followed were out of this world. The truth is Edinburgh are the in-form team of the Premier League and the Stars seem to be stuck in a bit of a lull after winning the league title. I feel we are going to have a repeat of that last-heat decider from 10 years ago."
Chapman insists Lynn have ultimate respect for the cup holders and dethroned champions. Andrew Tully and German ace Kevin Wolbert have bolstered the Monarchs' septet since a 54-38 Saddlebow league defeat in August.
"We need to restrict the Monarchs from scoring any more than 40 points to guarantee victory," he said. "That is going to be hard considering they have recruited some extra firepower since their last visit."
Monarchs team manager John Campbell believes his men will handle the pressure after surviving a Norfolk Arena onslaught to triumph in last season's play-offs.
"We dominated the home leg of the final and we performed well at King's Lynn earlier this year so I have total belief we can win this final," he said.
The Norfolk Arena box office will again be open tonight between 5 and 8pm for fans to purchase tickets in advance.
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