PREVIEW: BELLE VUE v IPSWICH (PO SF)

BELLE Vue take a comfortable 14-point lead into the home leg of their Premiership play-off semi-final against Ipswich tonight (Monday).

The Aces delivered a tremendous display to win 52-38 at Foxhall last Thursday and will now look to finish the job of qualifying for a second successive Grand Final.

Aces boss Mark Lemon said: “Thursday’s meeting at Ipswich went better than we could have ever imagined. The boys came together as a unit and everyone put in their two cents’ worth.

“I’m delighted to be bringing such a strong lead into our home leg, but we’ve only done half a job, and we’re mindful that the Witches will be coming here with nothing to lose.

“They are quite capable of flipping this whole semi-final in their favour, so we need to stay focused and get on with finishing what we’ve started.”

Ipswich manager Ritchie Hawkins said: “We have already messed it up, so we have nothing to lose now and everything to gain. The pressure is off.  

“We have got a team of riders capable of beating Belle Vue riders. The history and stats won’t be in our favour, but we have no pressure on us and we can go and race and enjoy ourselves.

“We need to put in a much better performance than we did on Thursday for all the fans watching at home or travelling. We need to put in a performance that they have seen all season with that fighting spirit and give them something to be proud of.”