MATT Jones is facing a frantic race against the clock to make Blackburn Hawks' date with Chelmsford at the Arena tonight (face-off 6pm).

The 19-year-old Great Britain international has been struggling all week with a knee injury and his chances are rated no better than 50-50.

Player-coach Bobby Haig is desperate for numbers as Hawks dig their claws in at the top of the English Premier League.

Hawks are also missing experienced defenceman Jim Pennycook, sidelined with a back injury but Haig will be boosted by the return of Canadian hitman Lamonte Polet. He missed last Sunday's date with Swindon after undergoing emergency surgery on a mouth injury sustained at Gillingham on Saturday.

But Polet will be back with a vengeance tonight after falling behind team-mate and fellow countryman Andrew Dickson in the Hawks scoring charts. Haig's men are just two points clear of Solihull Blaze and desperately need a win to maintain their grip on the summit.

After two hard-fought clashes with Chelmsford this season, producing a draw and a narrow 9-10 defeat, Hawks will be out to prevent the mid-table Chieftains claiming a prize scalp.

But Haig warned that they wouldn't take the opposition lights. "Chelmsford are a very strong side and they have been improving all season. They have a few quality imports and they are an all-round hard-working team.

"But the bigger ice suits us better and we can work just as hard if we all pull together. Hopefully we'll get a big crowd down at the Arena to cheer us on to stay at the top of the table. We're confident that we can put our minds to winning any game - it's just whoever gets it right on the night."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.