LEICESTER are up to second place in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership after a 50-40 win over Oxford on Monday.
The Watling JCB Lions have not quite mathematically confirmed their play-off place due to King’s Lynn’s win at Birmingham, but it would take an unprecedented turnaround now for them not to make the end-of-season shootout.
It was a night for the heat-leaders to take centre stage as Sam Masters, Ryan Douglas and Max Fricke all reeled off multiple race wins to dominate the scorechart, whilst the visitors got stuck in to prevent any major damage.
Fricke unusually dropped a point in Heat 1 following a fast start from Maciej Janowski, but Masters stormed around the outside on the last lap to take the win as Lions opened with a 4-2.
Reserves Drew Kemp and Joe Thompson carded a similar result in Heat 2, Peter Kildemand coming through for second place, but Douglas had to go alone in Heat 3 after guest Steve Worrall spun and fell on turn three.
Douglas duly held off Janowski to win the re-run whilst Masters won a shared Heat 4, and the home successes continued with Douglas heading Kildemand and Charles Wright in Heat 5 whilst the Spires kept the margin at four points.
Fricke was outgated by Rohan Tungate in Heat 6 but he charged through on the inside at the end of lap one with Kemp completing a 4-2, and another Lions advantage followed in the next as Masters held off an enthusiastic challenge from Mitch McDiarmid whilst Kemp relegated Janowski to the back.
There was a somewhat fortunate 4-2 for Lions in Heat 8 as Tungate ground to a halt from second place at the end of the third lap, with Fricke having burst between the Spires duo off the second bend.
Tungate did put a win on the board for the visitors, just holding off Douglas in Heat 9 as Kildemand moved inside Worrall for third place, and Janowski showed his class with a win over Fricke and Douglas in the next.
But the Lions were still eight points to the good and further wins for Masters and Douglas took them closer to victory, with Douglas just getting the better of Janowski and Kildemand on the first lap of Heat 12.
There was more good action in Heat 13 as Fricke established himself at the front whilst Wright ended Masters’ maximum hopes, but the 4-2 effectively got Leicester to the winning post.
There was a consolation for the Spires in Heat 14 with a brilliant ride by the talented McDiarmid to work his way through from the back and join Kildemand for a 5-1 over Worrall and Kemp.
But it was the Lions who would have the final say with Douglas and Masters racing clear in Heat 15 for their side’s first and only 5-1 of the night over Janowski and Wright to re-extend the margin back to ten points.
Manager Stewart Dickson said: “It’s natural that after the euphoria of the Cup Final there wasn’t quite the same energy in the stadium or from our riders, but we still managed to get the win which is important.
“Full credit to Oxford, they came here and gave us a tougher meeting than some other teams have this season, so I was pleased to get the win.
“I don’t think it was ever in doubt, but at the same time we never got the lead that we were hoping to get, so it was important to get the 5-1 in Heat 15.
“With a six-point lead going into that race it could have gone either way, but we got the gate choice for that race, and gates one and three were certainly better.
“Sam and Dougy rode well although it was a bit of a close one at times, but that was a good 5-1 to give us a ten-point cushion which is a bit more for us to go with to Cowley.”
Lions’ next fixture is a huge clash with league leaders Ipswich at the Hydroscand Arena, Beaumont Park next Monday (August 18).
LEICESTER 50: Ryan Douglas 15+1, Sam Masters 15+1, Max Fricke 12, Drew Kemp 5, Joe Thompson 2, Steve Worrall 1, Luke Becker r/r.
OXFORD 40: Maciej Janowski 10, Peter Kildemand 9+3, Rohan Tungate 7, Mitch McDiarmid 6+1, Charles Wright 5+1, Luke Killeen 3+1, Erik Riss r/r.
