Ipswich Witches v Wolverhampton Wolves

IPSWICH claimed a dramatic victory over Wolverhampton with a last-heat 5-1 to secure a 46-44 triumph.

The Witches had been pegged back from eight points up and went into the decider trailing by two, and facing unbeaten Wolves skipper Sam Masters who had reeled off five straight wins.

But Jason Doyle and Troy Batchelor teamed up to get the better of their fellow Aussie Masters and Luke Becker and turn the match decisively in the home side’s favour.

Doyle scored 13 and Batchelor 12+3 for the Witches, whilst Masters racked up 16 for Wolves who had to be content with one league point.

Ipswich manager Ritchie Hawkins said: “I’m delighted to get over the line in the end and get the win. We knew it was going to be a really tough night, missing Erik (Riss), and Starkey (Paul Starke) far from being 100 per cent fit.

“We are delighted to get the three points in the end, and we are nowhere near where we can or should be, but we managed to get the result.

“It was a superb Heat 15, we swapped the gate positions around from last week and that seemed to work well tonight. It is all part of learning and building knowledge throughout the season, and three points puts us in a good position in the table.”

Wolves boss Peter Adams said: “We did very well to get back from eight points behind to be leading with one heat to go, and in tight situations like this it’s all down to the gate choice.

“If we’d had one and three I’m certain the result would have been different, but fair play to Ipswich, they’re a strong team and we were competing today with more or less four and a half riders.

“You’re not going to win these kinds of tight matches without stronger contributions elsewhere in the team.”

IPSWICH 46: Jason Doyle 13, Troy Batchelor 12+3, Danny King 7, Danyon Hume 6+1, Paul Starke 5+1, Ben Barker 3, Erik Riss r/r.
WOLVERHAMPTON 44: Sam Masters 16, Luke Becker 9+1, Nick Morris 6+1, Steve Worrall 5+1, Ryan Douglas 5, Drew Kemp 3, Joe Thompson 0.

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Photo credit: JEFF HIGGOTT