Sheffield Tigers v Leicester Lions

SHEFFIELD overcame the absence of No.1 Jack Holder to defeat Leicester 53-37 at Owlerton and take maximum points from the meeting.

The Tigers operated rider replacement for broken arm victim Holder and functioned as an all-round unit, securing the aggregate point with a 5-1 from Chris Holder and skipper Josh Pickering in the last race.

The visitors had pulled back from ten points down on the night to just four with four races remaining, but the hosts came up with another big finish on their own track.

Holder scored 13+2 and Pickering 13+1 with several moves from the back, whilst Leon Flint (11+1) and Anders Rowe (10) were also in double figures.

Ryan Douglas scored 11 for the Lions and Rising Star Joe Thompson impressed with 10, but  former Sheffield skipper Kyle Howarth endured a nightmare meeting at reserve as he failed to score.

Tigers boss Simon Stead said: “That was for Jack, that one! I was really proud of the team spirit, the determination that we showed because that was always going to be tough, no doubt about it. But we got our heads down, we focussed and we dug deep.

“I think we covered Jack as best we could. It’s not ideal, but it’s virtually impossible to replace what Jack does here on a weekly basis. Everyone showed moments and I’m really proud of that result.”

Lions captain Sam Masters said: “We did put up a good fight all night, but it’s such a tough place to come.

“I don’t know what it was (after the interval), we can’t pinpoint any reason why that happened, but they’re such a good team around here.

“Kyle had a few years here and he had a rough night with a crash too, but Joe stepped up and he rode awesome. We all fought hard and a few more points would have been nice, but it wasn’t meant to be.”

SHEFFIELD 53: Chris Holder 13+2, Josh Pickering 13+1, Leon Flint 11+1, Anders Rowe 10, Jye Etheridge 5+1, Luke Killeen 1+1, Jack Holder r/r.
LEICESTER 37: Ryan Douglas 11, Joe Thompson 10, Sam Masters 8+1, Nick Morris 6+1, Drew Kemp 2+1, Kyle Howarth 0, Dan Thompson r/r.
Sheffield win the aggregate point

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Photo credit: CHARLOTTE FLANIGAN