WITCHES MARCH ON AT TOP
IPSWICH moved six points clear at the top of the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership with a 53-37 win over Oxford at Foxhall.
Emil Sayfutdinov scored a 12-point maximum for the Witches who managed to overcome the withdrawal of Adam Ellis after just one ride due to pain in his side.
Keynan Rew kept up his strong form at reserve with 11+2 and guest Scott Nicholls collected 11+1 as the home side maintained their 100 per cent record on their own circuit.
Former Witches rider Rohan Tungate led the way for the Spires with 13 points, and captain Chris Harris added 9+1, but they were left hugely disappointed with their display.
Ipswich boss Ritchie Hawkins said: “Result-wise it was brilliant and another team performance again, so I am delighted with that.
“It certainly wasn’t without its worries and stress with different injuries, but we managed to cope with our problems and all the boys are working well as a unit to cover each other.
“Missing Adam after one heat puts a lot of pressure on the team, Danny (King) is not fully fit yet and Jordan (Jenkins) had a crash and picked up a knock. Even though he went through the card Emil was feeling pretty under the weather, so we were far from fully fit.”
Oxford manager Peter Schroeck said: “It’s unacceptable really, I’m very disappointed with it, I know we can do a lot better. It’s a bit out of character and I’m not happy at all.
“The track is the same for everybody, it’s all about attitude and you’ve got to be mentally pretty strong when you come here.
“We have to regroup, start all over again, and if these boys want to be in the play-offs they have to pull their socks up, otherwise we have to look at alternatives.”
OFFICIAL REFEREE SCORECARD
Available here
Photo credit: JEFF HIGGOTT
