Ipswich Witches v Northampton Foxes

IPSWICH booked their place in the Premiership KO Cup Final with a hard-fought 47-43 home win over newcomers Northampton.

The Witches have won all three of their southern section group fixtures and are now uncatchable at the top, setting up a Final clash with holders Leicester in July.

But they were given a tough battle by the Foxes, who raced into an early six-point lead and also fought back strongly in the closing stages after Ipswich had worked to establish a double-figure advantage.

Tobiasz Musielak delivered a classy display for the hosts with 12 points and skipper Danny King added 9+1, whilst Jaimon Lidsey impressed again for the Foxes with 13 and Kye Thomson banged in 10+1 at reserve.

Witches boss Paul Hurry said: “We all feel, and every one of them said, ‘There is still something we need to work on.’ Everyone went away thinking they are still chasing that goal, which is good.

“Team spirit is good, and everyone is happy. But everyone is still feeling there’s a little bit missing at the moment. We’ll see what happens and keep working on it.

“But onwards and upwards – we’re into a Cup Final! It was only our second home meeting, so to achieve that is really good.”

Foxes manager Chris Adams said: “Once again there were lots of positives during the night. We’re still trying to find our form a little bit, but there are some very encouraging signs.

“Jaimon again did a brilliant job at No.1, and I thought Kye had a fantastic night at reserve.

“But all in all Ipswich are pretty strong at home, so I have to say to come away with a four-point loss, I’m happy with that performance.”

PREMIERSHIP KO CUP (SOUTH)
IPSWICH 47: Tobiasz Musielak 12, Danny King 9+1, Richard Lawson 6+1, Scott Nicholls 6+1, Tom Brennan 5+1, Philip Hellstrom-Bangs 5+1, Jason Edwards 4+2.
NORTHAMPTON 43: Jaimon Lidsey 13, Kye Thomson 10+1, Matej Zagar 8+1, Nicolai Klindt 6, Troy Batchelor 3+1, Luke Harrison 3+1, Niels-Kristian Iversen r/r.

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Photo credit: JEFF HIGGOTT