WITCHES TAKE CUP ADVANTAGE

IPSWICH came up with another big result despite their depleted state with a first-leg KO Cup semi-final win at Birmingham.

The injury-hit Witches came back from eight points down to snatch a 46-44 verdict at Perry Barr thanks to a sensational ride in Heat 15 by Emil Sayfutdinov.

Brummies top scorer Justin Sedgmen looked set to secure a draw on the night, but Sayfutdinov built up speed and produced a stunning outside move going into the last lap.

Sayfutdinov scored 15+1 with reserve Keynan Rew excelling on 13+2 and Norick Blodorn proved a top guest with 12+1. Sedgmen scored 15+1 for the Brummies.

Ipswich boss Ritchie Hawkins said: “After a very stressful day with losing Dan (Thompson) this morning to illness, I’m absolutely delighted with the fight from the boys.

“Obviously, we were down early and fighting all meeting, but the spirit here seems to be rubbing off onto our guests! It made it all worthwhile coming away with a win for all the effort today.

“It leaves us in a great position going into Thursday, but we’ll have another couple of guests and rider replacement again so it’s still going to be tough.”

Birmingham manager Sam Ermolenko said: “It was very difficult for the boys to actually do the big moves and for us, Justin was the only one that was actually making a dent and getting into the front corner in front of the opposition.

“I was expecting a little bit more out of some of the guys and we were missing Stevie Worrall big time. We just needed that bit more support and that’s kind of where we lost it.”

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Photo credit: STEVE FEENEY