BRACKNELL, UK – The Swindon Wildcats and the Bracknell Bees renew their rivalry this weekend with back-to-back games. The match-up has extra bite as four former Bees return to The Hive on Sunday night. Jaroslav Cesky, Michal Pinc, Nicky Watt and Shane Moore return to their former club – with Bees new winger Matt Foord returning to Swindon for the first time since his move from the Wildcats. Bees Head Coach Gareth Cox, said: “I’m sure they have a point to prove, but we’re just concentrating on our game. “I’d expect them to get a good reception back here, they did well here, but they’ve moved on now.” Both teams have had mixed starts to the new season. The Bees have beaten both Slough and Basingstoke at home, but lost to the same teams away from home. “So far, we’ve shown we can go into any game and give anyone a good game and compete” said Cox. The Wildcats demolished the Telford Tigers 8-1 last Saturday, and ran the Manchester Phoenix close, eventually losing 3-2. Swindon have never missed the playoffs while playing in the English Premier League, while the Bees haven’t reached the post-season since 2009. It may be an early-season clash, but both sides know a four-point weekend would give them momentum and confidence in what is turning out to be an extremely unpredictable league. The Bees have conceded several early goals this season, and Cox is concentrating on putting this right. “We’ve got to start every game switched on. We can’t use the first twenty minutes as a warm-up, but need to be focused for the whole game.” The Sheffield Steeldogs currently sit on top of the English Premier League table, with Swindon in third place and the Bees in seventh position. The Peterborough Phantoms are currently propping up the table, and are still searching for their first win of the season. “We’ve beaten teams who last season were at the top end of the league. But, this season is different with so many changes. “It will take a few weeks for the league to sort itself out and we’ll see who is going to be challenging near the top” added Cox. Contact the author david.bol@prohockeynews.com
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