LEICESTER are through to their second successive ROWE Motor Oil Premiership Grand Final after overcoming Sheffield by a single point in an epic play-off semi-final clash.
Skipper Max Fricke pulled off a massive race win in a last-heat decider at the Hydroscand Arena, Beaumont Park to steer the Watling JCB Lions to a 47-43 win on the night, and 90-89 on aggregate.
It means the Lions still have the chance to complete a league and Cup double this season, and the decider will come against Ipswich early next month.
They trailed by three points going into the second leg against the Tigers, and the two teams served up a superb speedway battle full of top-class racing with the aggregate lead repeatedly changing hands.
Fricke and Luke Becker got the Lions off to a flyer with a 5-1 over Jack Holder in Heat 1, but the Tigers responded in the next race as reserves Anders Rowe and Jye Etheridge secured their own maximum advantage.
Kyle Howarth bundled his way inside Chris Holder to win Heat 3 with Ryan Douglas third after the Australians had contested the first bend, but that 4-2 was cancelled out immediately when the impressive Rowe stormed clear of Sam Masters in Heat 4, with the Lions vice-captain keeping Josh Pickering at by for second place.
Howarth produced another excellent ride to win Heat 5 with Jack Holder preventing a Lions 5-1 by getting the better of Douglas at the end of the first lap, and there was more good racing in Heat 6 with Pickering defeating Fricke whilst Becker salvaged third place with an inside pass on Etheridge.
The Lions edged back ahead on aggregate in a tremendous Heat 7 when Drew Kemp shot between Chris Holder and Maciej Janowski off the second bend whilst Masters made up ground from the back, passing Holder for third place and just missing out to Janowski in a photo finish for second.
But again Sheffield regained the overall advantage with a 4-2 in Heat 8 having gated on a maximum, before Becker moved inside Rowe and nearly got on terms with Etheridge on the last lap.
Douglas raced to his first win of the night in Heat 9 with Howarth supplying third place, meaning Lions led by one point overall, but they then suffered cruel misfortune in Heat 10 just when they looked to take control of the tie.
Fricke and Becker dominated the race and were on a clear 5-1 heading into the last lap only for Becker to suffer a chain breakage, sending him crashing into the fence – and whilst he was thankfully uninjured, the four-point swing could have been huge in the tie.
Still Lions edged their way forward as Masters and Kemp gated in Heat 11 before Jack Holder split them on lap two, and another 4-2 followed in Heat 12 with Rowe this time getting between Douglas and Kemp, who still recorded vital third place over Chris Holder.
Lions were five points ahead on aggregate and Heat 13 was a thriller with Fricke being knocked by Holder going into the first bend, resulting in the Tigers holding a 5-1 position only for Fricke to pass both of his opponents to lead.
Holder, though, fought back and made a great move on lap four to retake the advantage with Fricke just holding off Pickering for second place.
And the tension ramped up even further when Janowski, who had contributed little to that stage, popped up with a win in Heat 14 and Rowe held third over Kemp, cutting the gap back to a single point.
Sheffield had choice of gates for Heat 15 with Leicester electing to pair Douglas and Fricke from gates two and four against Holder and Pickering.
The first start saw Holder and Douglas clash going into the first bend with the Lions man going down, and SCB referee Phil Griffin quite rightly called for a re-start with all four riders.
Fricke had not made a good start on that occasion, but the re-run saw him produce something truly special from gate four, charging across to take full control of the race with a true captain’s ride, and this time there was nothing that Holder could do to catch him, with the win crucial as Pickering did manage to overcome Douglas for third place.
The victory was rightly celebrated by the Lions at the conclusion of one of the all-time classic play-off semi-finals, and now their focus will switch to their next challenge.
Manager Stewart Dickson said: “We got there, and I’d say it was deserved when I look back at the Luke Becker incident, which was a four-point swing when the chain went, and he rode very well tonight.
“So I think we just about deserved it, but credit to Sheffield, they wouldn’t go away and that’s what a play-off semi-final brings, and obviously I’m very glad we’re in the Final.
“I did call it before Heat 14 that Maciej Janowski would pop out and win it, and Jack (Holder) had passed Max in Heat 13 which is something we don’t normally see here.
“But normally if we have Max in Heat 15 around here and we need three points, I take it as a banker because he’s that good around here. I know the cheers went up on the last lap when he was going down the back straight and I don’t think Jack was catching him for a second time, but I was certainly waiting for him to cross that finish line! Then when he did the place went daft and we’re all happy.
“We’ve now got a Final to look forward to, which is what it’s all about, and whilst we never covered ourselves in glory against Belle Vue last year I do think it’s a good record to reach another Final, and it says a lot about my riders.
“I stuck with as many riders as possible from last year’s team and I think that’s proved to be the correct decision. They should get the praise, they delivered when the pressure was on, and now we can start preparing for Ipswich.”
Dates for the Grand Final are confirmed with the Lions hosting Ipswich on Monday October 6 before the second leg takes place in Suffolk on Thursday October 9.
Before that, they visit Oxford in their final regular league fixture of the season this Thursday, whilst Ryan Douglas stages his Testimonial Meeting at the Hydroscand Arena on Saturday (4pm).
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP PLAY-OFF, SEMI-FINAL, 2nd LEG
LEICESTER 47: Max Fricke 12+1, Kyle Howarth 9, Ryan Douglas 8, Luke Becker 6+1, Sam Masters 6, Drew Kemp 6, Joe Thompson 0.
SHEFFIELD 43: Jack Holder 10, Anders Rowe 10, Josh Pickering 8+1, Maciej Janowski 6+1, Jye Etheridge 5+1, Chris Holder 4, Leon Flint 0.
Leicester win 90-89 on aggregate
