LEICESTER’S 45-45 draw at King’s Lynn in the first leg of the Premiership KO Cup Final on Monday has set up a massive showdown for the silverware later this week.
The Watling JCB Lions now head into what is effectively a one-off clash on their own track at the Hydroscand Arena, Beaumont Park on Thursday, knowing a win on the night will see them secure that long awaited first major top-flight trophy.
The main aim at the Adrian Flux Arena was to stay in the tie against a Stars side with serious strength in depth provided by Danish star Nicolai Klindt at reserve.
But despite a score of paid-16 from the home captain, the Lions put on a resolute effort and actually led for the majority of the meeting before settling for a draw in the closing stages.
It certainly wasn’t plain sailing in the early stages as skipper Max Fricke was shuffled to the back of Heat 1 with the Lions indebted to their excellent guest Tom Brennan for winning the race – but they did drop behind in Heat 2 with the concession of a 5-1 against Klindt and youngster Luke Harrison.
The next three races, however, were all Leicester as Ryan Douglas trapped in Heat 3 and Kyle Howarth held a good inside line to get the better of Chris Harris and Lewis Kerr to level things up at 9-9.
Sam Masters then controlled Heat 4 ahead of Jan Kvech with Joe Thompson in third place as Leicester went ahead for the first time, and a brilliant ride by Fricke in the next saw him use the outside on the opening lap to clear Kerr and Harris, joining Brennan for a 5-1 which put the Lions 18-12 up.
King’s Lynn responded, though, with a 4-2 in Heat 6 after a tough battle between Richard Lawson and Sam Masters, and the combination of Klint and Kvech squeezed out Douglas heading into the first bend of Heat 7 for a 5-1 meaning it was all level again at 21-21.
Brennan reeled off his third win in Heat 8 with Thompson again defeating Harrison for third place as the Lions went back ahead, and two shared races followed with Masters winning Heat 9 and Lawson then taking Heat 10 for the hosts.
Fricke produced another excellent move in Heat 11 as he trailed Kvech for three laps before switching to the inside on the last lap and slicing his way through, enabling the Lions to double their lead to four points.
Back came Lynn in Heat 12, though, with a 4-2 as Douglas split Klindt and Harris, and Fricke then dominated a shared Heat 13 despite the efforts of Kvech and Klindt to challenge him.
Lions therefore took a 40-38 lead into the last two races but it nearly turned in Lynn’s favour in Heat 14 with Klindt up front and Kerr battling with Howarth, who just managed to re-pass his rival for second place on the run to the line.
So it was all level going into Heat 15, and that was how it stayed as the opening lap saw Kvech move inside Brennan to take the lead whilst at the same time Fricke was recovering third place from Lawson, leaving the scores locked at 45-45.
Lions manager Stewart Dickson said: “The job is half done, and would I have taken that result before the meeting? 100 per cent I would, yes.
“There is a slight tinge of disappointment because we were four points up with four heats to go and we never managed to hold on to the win on the night.
“But at the same time, I can’t be too greedy. It sets it up nicely and King’s Lynn will still feel they’ve got a chance as well, because I know I would if it was one-off match that you just need to win by any score.
“Tom’s performance was very, very good, and it was a dream guest booking. It highlighted the fact that I didn’t want to go with rider replacement in a Cup Final, and you will have noticed that Rob Lyon (King’s Lynn manager) also went with seven riders tonight rather than r/r.
“We will need seven riders again in the second leg, and all seven contributing, because we could still be in for a difficult night.
“I’d like to thank all of the Leicester fans who travelled in great numbers tonight, and now we can look forward to a terrific occasion at home on Thursday.”
KING’S LYNN 45: Nicolai Klindt 14+2, Jan Kvech 11+1, Richard Lawson 10, Chris Harris 4, Niels-Kristian Iversen 2+1, Luke Harrison 2+1, Lewi Kerr 2.
LEICESTER 45: Tom Brennan 12, Max Fricke 9+2, Sam Masters 8, Ryan Douglas 8, Kyle Howarth 5+2, Joe Thompson 3, Drew Kemp 0.
Photo credit: DEREK LEADER
