LEICESTER paid the price for a nightmare start as they went down to a 54-36 defeat at Ipswich on Monday.
The Watling JCB Lions had pulled off an excellent win on their previous visit to Foxhall last month, but it was a different story on this occasion as a full-strength Witches side got off to a dominant opening.
Having found themselves 20 points down after just six races, Lions appeared to be heading for a demoralising defeat, but to their credit they regrouped from that and were far more competitive as the meeting went on.
Skipper Max Fricke kept up his superb league form, dropping only two points from his last six outings after conceding a 5-1 in Heat 1, and Ryan Douglas also added a couple of wins to stem the tide.
But there was no doubt the Witches were worthy winners, their success underpinned by a whirlwind start which saw them reel off 5-1s in each of the first three races – exactly as Leicester had done to Belle Vue last Thursday.
Lions could have had more from Heat 2 but Drew Kemp fell on the third bend whilst Jordan Jenkins made it around Joe Thompson for second place, whilst Adam Ellis and Tom Brennan flew away from Douglas and Kyle Howarth in Heat 3 to match the opening maximum from Emil Sayfutdinov and Danny King.
Sam Masters became the first Leicester rider to defeat an opponent when he finished second in Heat 4, but the run of Witches advantages continued with a further 4-2 in Heat 5 as Brennan just got the better of Fricke, and then King and Sayfutdinov raced to their second 5-1 in Heat 6 with Masters hitting trouble.
At 31-11 down after seven races Lions were still awaiting a race winner, but that was provided by Fricke in Heat 8 with Ipswich duo King and Jenkins relegating Thompson to the back.
And Leicester managed their first advantage in Heat 9 as Fricke won a tactical substitute ride with Masters third as Brennan came to grief.
The home fans were on their feet in Heat 10 as King led from the front whilst Sayfutdinov reeled in Douglas on the second lap and then chased Howarth, passing him on the run to the line for another 5-1.
But the Lions then began to find the key to conditions, albeit too late on the night, as Douglas rode an excellent first lap to team up with Fricke for a 5-1 over Jason Doyle in Heat 11, and then Douglas and Kemp squeezed either side of Ellis in Heat 12 for another Lions maximum.
Fricke took an excellent win over the Witches’ top two of Sayfutdinov and Doyle in a shared Heat 13, but Ipswich did pull clear again with maximum points from Brennan and Dan Thompson in Heat 14 before a tough opening bend to Heat 15 saw Brennan emerge clear of Fricke and Douglas for a 3-3.
Lions manager Stewart Dickson said: “We were just getting bullied in the first corners. They were making better starts than us but even a couple of times when we did make the gate, the Ipswich riders were going by us as if we weren’t there.
“I did have a few words to say it was getting a bit embarrassing, we’re a lot better than that, and we said we wanted to be competitive in the second half of the meeting at least, to show that it wasn’t the real Leicester away from home.
“Max led from the front and Dougy picked up as the meeting went on, one or two of the other boys had difficult nights, but we can’t make excuses. It hasn’t happened very often, but you’ve got to be on it every match in this league or you’ll get found out to your cost.
“Ritchie’s (Hawkins) team did really well tonight and deserved the points, and we just need to lick our wounds and gear up for a very big night at Sheffield on Thursday.”
That trip to Owlerton sees the Lions defend an 18-point lead in the second leg of their KO Cup semi-final as they bid to put out the holders and reach the Final.
IPSWICH 54: Tom Brennan 11+1, Danny King 10+1, Emil Sayfutdinov 9+2, Jason Doyle 8+1, Adam Ellis 7, Dan Thompson 5+1, Jordan Jenkins 4+2.
LEICESTER 36: Max Fricke 16+1, Ryan Douglas 9+1, Kyle Howarth 4+1, Drew Kemp 3+1, Sam Masters 3, Joe Thompson 1, Luke Becker r/r.
