Ipswich Witches v Sheffield Tigers

Report

IPSWICH put themselves in the driving seat at the halfway stage of the Sports Insure Premiership Grand Final with a 54-36 win over Sheffield in the first leg.

The Witches matched the margin they achieved at home to Belle Vue in the semi-final thanks to a burst of scoring in the closing stages, securing 5-1s in three of the last four races.

Their spearhead of Jason Doyle (15) and Emil Sayfutdinov (13+2) both recorded maximums, and with skipper Danny King chipping in with ten, the Tigers were reduced to just four heat wins.

Guest Robert Lambert scored nine for the visitors whilst Josh Pickering (8) produced a brilliant effort from the back to win Heat 14.

Ipswich boss Ritchie Hawkins said: “I’m really happy with the result, it was a really tough battle. We managed to come through it and get a decent lead, so I’m delighted with all seven of them on a tricky track tonight due to the weather we had last night.

“I’m delighted with the boys, and it is a good lead, but we know Sheffield are going to come strong on Thursday.

“It was a brilliant performance from our three heat leaders, they won a lot of races. Heats 13 and 15 were crucial 5-1s, that is eight points up in two heats and they could easily have been shared heats.

“They have been superb all season and we have talked a lot about it, you can’t put into words the job they have done, and they have come up trumps again and what a pleasure they have been to work with.

“It was tough out there tonight, 13 out of the 14 riders attacked the track and battled hard. It felt like a battle, and it wasn’t enjoyable conditions for anyone to ride in, but it couldn’t be helped.

“The weather played its part which it does at this time of year, and it was a proper Final with two teams battling their hardest. I’m sure it will be the same on Thursday.”

SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP GRAND FINAL, 1st leg
IPSWICH 54: Jason Doyle 15, Emil Sayfutdinov 13+2, Danny King 10, Keynan Rew 5+1, Danyon Hume 5+1, Erik Riss 5, Joe Thompson 1+1.
SHEFFIELD 36: Robert Lambert 9, Josh Pickering 8, Richard Lawson 6, Jason Edwards 5, Kyle Howarth 3+2, Connor Mountain 3, Chris Holder 2+1.

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Photo credit: JEFF HIGGOTT