LEICESTER bounced back from their weekend home defeat to pull off a hard fought 46-43 win at Plymouth on Tuesday.
Stewart Dickson’s men dug deep on a tricky night in Devon with rain making the track difficult at times.
They now head to Poole on a revenge mission on Wednesday night after slipping up to the Pirates at the weekend.
They were only denied all four league points by a last gasp 5-1 from Bjarne Pedersen and Richard Lawson and had to settle for a three-point return.
Skipper Kyle Howarth said: “It was a tough night for everyone but I’m proud of the boys, we did what we had to do.
“It’s great to put three points on the board, a shame we couldn’t quite get that extra point, but we move on to Poole in good heart.”
The Watling JCB Lions made a slow start but were able to claw their way back into the meeting with some determined action.
They looked in trouble early on at 15-9 down on the small Gladiator Arena circuit with recent Plymouth signing Zaine Keleher breaking the track record in the third race.
Nick Morris fell when on his own in a clear lead in Heat 4 and the Devon side cashed in with a maximum from Bjarne Pedersen and Alfie Bowtell.
But that was when Stewart Dickson’s men started their revival.
Skipper Kyle Howarth made a sharp start in the next to become Leicester’s first winner of the night and Hans Andersen claimed third for a 4-2.
Then in the seventh Ryan Douglas combimed with Howarth for a 5-1 to get within two points of the home side at 22-20.
The Thompson twins gained a 4-2, led by Joe, in the next and Morris recovered for his first win in Heat 9 with Joe Thompson third to hand the Watling JCB Lions a 28-26 lead.
But then came the real drama as the home side lost control – twice. Guest Richard Lawson, in for the injured former World Champion Jason Crump, fell when Leicester were on a 5-1 with conditions becoming greasy – and Dillon Ruml lost control in the rerun. Douglas and Howarth completed the formality of a gift 5-0 to go 33-26 up.
Pedersen and Lawson responded in 11 with a home 5-1 when Hans Andersen fell in the third turn after a fine battle with Lawson who was a tactical substitute for the home side .
But reserve Zaine Kennedy pulled off a brilliant ride to partner Howarth for a Leicester maximum in the next to go seven-points ahead.
Morris suffered his second fall of the night in Heat 13 at the back, hitting the airfence on bend three which caused a rerun. Andersen responded with a fine win, however, to hold off Richard Lawson to keep Leicester 45-38 clear with only two heats to go.
PLYMOUTH 43: Richard Lawson 12+2, Bjarne Pedersen 11+1, Alfie Bowtell 8+2, Zane Keleher 7, Zach Cook 3 Dillon Ruml 2, Jack Smith 0
LEICESTER 47: Kyle Howarth 11+3, Ryan Douglas 11+1, Joe Thompson 6+1, Hans Andersen 6, Nick Morris 5, Zaine Kennedy 5, Dan Thompson 2
Championship points: Plymouth 0 Leicester 3
WEDNESDAY TEAMS:
POOLE: Rory Schlein, Drew Kemp, Steve Worrall, Stefan Nielsen, Danny King, James Wright, Danyon Hume.
LEICESTER: Hans Andersen, Dan Thompson, Nick Morris, Kyle Howarth, Ryan Douglas, Zaine Kennedy, Joe Thompson.
Picture: BLUMONKEY MEDIA
