Sheffield Tigers v Belle Vue Aces

SHEFFIELD took another step towards the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership play-offs with a hard-fought 47-43 win over leaders Belle Vue at Owlerton.

With the earlier fixture in Manchester having been postponed due to heavy rain, the Tigers overcame a four-point deficit after Heat 10 to pull off a vital victory which moves them five points ahead of fifth-placed King’s Lynn in the standings.

Two 5-1s in Heats 13 and 14 proved crucial with reserves Luke Killeen (9+1) and Jye Etheridge (7+1) combining for the match clinching maximum, whilst skipper Josh Pickering scored 11+2. Brady Kurtz and Jason Doyle both picked up 10 for the Aces, whilst German Champion Norick Blodorn was unbeaten from his first three rides as he scored 8+1.

Sheffield boss Simon Stead said: “We knew it was going to be difficult, so it was important to keep it tight, stay close and not let the meeting get away from us.

“It was great to see our two reserves really step up tonight and cover Leon (Flint) who had a difficult night after a crazy few days with riding in the World Cup on Saturday and a crazy 24 hours or so with travel to get back from Germany with cancelled flights and all sorts on that front.

“But collectively the lads got it over the line and that’s another big result for us at just the right time in the season.”

Blodorn said: “It’s disappointing because we had such a good start to the meeting, but when I compare the result to the last couple of years when we came here, we always got smashed pretty bad.

“We just lost it in the end, which is a bit unfortunate, but I think we still did a pretty decent job, and it was a solid night for me apart from the last one.”

ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2
SHEFFIELD 47: Josh Pickering 11+2, Luke Killeen 9+1, Chris Holder 7+1, Max Fricke 7+1, Jye Etheridge 7+1, Anders Rowe 5+1, Leon Flint 1.
BELLE VUE 43: Brady Kurtz 10, Jason Doyle 10, Norick Blodorn 8+1, Peter Kildemand 6+1, Tate Zischke 4, Zach Cook 3, Will Cairns 2.

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Photo credit: IAN CHARLES