LEICESTER put in a creditable performance in difficult circumstances in a 50-40 defeat at Ipswich on Thursday.
Without two members of their regular top five, the Watling JCB Lions led the meeting approaching the halfway stage, only for the Witches to produce a strong recovery to turn proceedings in their favour.
However, the ten-point margin is still a manageable one for the Lions with the aggregate point very much within range when the sides meet back at the Hydroscand Arena on Bank Holiday Monday (August 31).
And Leicester still very much have their play-off destiny in their own hands with three home matches plus a trip to King’s Lynn remaining, and a maximum of two more wins will be required.
No.1 Ryan Douglas recovered from a tricky start in the worst of conditions to put in another quality showing, whilst there were wins and paid wins for Drew Kemp and Sam Masters in the top five, and Joe Thompson completed a most impressive week of Rising Star displays with a paid-10 score.
Rain passed through Foxhall during early evening making the track very tricky, with start time delayed until 8pm to enable work to take place, and gating was of paramount importance with riders at the back regularly failing to finish after being filled in.
Lions largely had the better of the early stages, although there was misfortune for Douglas in Heat 1 when he had to retire from third place for just that reason, as Drew Kemp comfortably split Adam Ellis and Richard Lawson.
But the Leicester reserves hit back strongly as guest Lewis Kerr made a fast start in Heat 2 whilst Thompson neatly cut back inside Kevin Juhl Pedersen off the second bend and then fended off the Danish rider’s challenge to complete a 5-1.
Ipswich responded with maximum points in Heat 3, with a similar move made by Danny King to get inside Kerr on turn two as Tom Brennan took the win, but the 5-1 trading went Lions’ way in Heat 4 despite a good start by Jason Edwards, as Thompson and Sam Masters quickly blasted their way through.
Leicester moved four points clear with a 4-2 in Heat 5 thanks to a good win from Kemp whilst Douglas split King and Brennan on the third bend as an outside line began to appear.
Masters gated first in Heat 6 but Ellis rounded him on the back straight to take the win as the hosts pulled two points back, before Tobiasz Musielak won a shared Heat 7 as he cleared Thompson on the second bend.
But the next two races proved significant as Edwards again gated in Heat 8 and as he closed down Lions duo Kemp and Thompson, Ellis steamed through on the inside for a 5-1.
Another Witches maximum followed in the next as Brennan hit the front on the second bend whilst King pulled off the best move of the meeting to storm around Masters off turn four, and that meant the home side were suddenly six points up.
Lions boss Stewart Dickson responded with a tactical substitute in Heat 10 as Douglas came in, and the move paid off as he raced clear from gate three, but the Witches packed in ahead of Anders Rowe for a 3-3.
Douglas was back out in Heat 11 and added another victory after a strong challenge from Musielak, whilst Kemp pounced on an error from Juhl Pedersen on lap three to snatch third place for a Lions 4-2.
That was cancelled out in Heat 12 when Thompson held off Edwards for second place whilst Kemp’s efforts to get around the Ipswich rider on the last bend saw him slide off.
Lions suffered further bad luck in Heat 13 when they held an early 4-2 as Masters took the lead and Douglas came through into third place, only for Masters to shed a chain just after he had dropped behind Musielak, and that allowed Lawson to pick up a point.
Ipswich secured the win on the night with a 5-1 in Heat 14, Brennan and Edwards making the best of the first two bends to see off Rowe and Edwards, but the Lions had the final say with a 4-2 in Heat 15 as Douglas took his third win of the meeting with Masters holding off Brennan for third place.
Dickson said: "It was disappointing that we were four points ahead and ended up losing by ten, but it wasn’t the worst result and I actually had that figure roughly in my head before the meeting.
“It gives us a fighting chance of the aggregate point, but we do still have to win a couple of meetings. We do still have work to do.
“It was an okay performance, and conditions were tough for both teams but in fairness they got on with it. It went roughly the way I thought it would, with us missing a couple of riders.”
The Lions now have a week off which will enable the fitness of Dan Thompson and Nick Morris to be further assessed before they face league leaders Belle Vue at the Hydroscand Arena next Thursday (August 27).
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2
IPSWICH 50: Adam Ellis 10+1, Tobiasz Musielak 10, Danny King 9+2, Tom Brennan 9, Jason Edwards 7+1, Richard Lawson 4+1, Kevin Juhl Pedersen 1.
LEICESTER 40: Ryan Douglas 12, Joe Thompson 8+2, Drew Kemp 7, Sam Masters 6+1, Anders Rowe 4, Lewis Kerr 3, Nick Morris r/r.
Photo credit: JEFF HIGGOTT
