PREVIEW: BELLE VUE v IPSWICH (ROWE MOTOR OIL PREM P/O S/F)
ROWE Motor Oil Premiership champions Belle Vue face league leaders Ipswich as the title play-offs get underway in Manchester tonight (Monday).
The two clubs are familiar rivals at this stage of the competition as they will be meeting in the semi-finals for the third time in four years, although on both previous occasions it was the Witches who staged the first leg.
In 2022, the Aces raced to a 52-38 win in Suffolk to make the second leg little more than a formality, but Ipswich turned the tables one year later by successfully defending an 18-point first leg advantage in an incredible tie which went down to a last-heat decider.
Both sides track full-strength line-ups with previous encounters at the NSS this season seeing Ipswich collect a 50-40 win in the KO Cup back in March, before Belle Vue were 52-38 winners in the first league encounter.
The Witches then hit back to win a Super Heat after the teams had tied 45-45 in early August, and the Foxhall club have been victorious on aggregate on all three occasions.
Belle Vue boss Mark Lemon said: “That means nothing come the play-offs, we start from zero and all that counts is that we reach 91 points over the two legs to progress to another Grand Final.
“We’ve been here before and I think we are in very good shape to take on the challenge.
“The Aces know the process. We’ve had some epic battles over the past three seasons on the way to two league titles. It’s just about raising our game, finding that extra level and delivering a blockbuster performance.”
Ipswich manager Ritchie Hawkins said: “We have had some very good results at Belle Vue this year so we can go into it with great confidence. I know that if this team perform then we are capable of winning everywhere.
“We are 100 per cent focused now, the time for trying things and experimenting and getting yourself into the season is gone now. Everything rests on this week and we are up for it, looking to make a great start to the meeting.
“They are a good play-off team; they have won lots of play-off meetings and know how to win those semis and finals. We want to give ourselves as little to do as possible on Thursday and we go into the meeting looking to win it.”
BELLE VUE: Brady Kurtz, Norick Blodorn, Jaimon Lidsey, Zach Cook, Dan Bewley, Tate Zischke, Jake Mulford.
IPSWICH: Emil Sayfutdinov, Danny King, Jason Doyle, Dan Thompson, Tom Brennan, Adam Ellis, Jason Edwards.
SCB Referee: Chris Durno
