LEICESTER edged out Coventry 46-44 in a tight Elite League local derby at Beaumont Park on Monday.
Krzysztof Kasprzak won Heat 15 for the Bees but they had to be content with one league point as Chris Harris was kept at the rear by Nicolai Klindt and Ludvig Lindgren.
Recent Lions signing Lindgren piled up 12+3 at reserve for the hosts, whilst the visitors were further thwarted by Jason Garrity’s withdrawal after a Heat 8 crash.
Leicester boss Norrie Allan said: “We have been threatening to secure a win in so many matches this season. Most have been last heat deciders of late and yet each time the visitors have triumphed to leave us empty handed.
“For once tonight it went our way and what a finale that featured Ludvig and Nicolai, who set up the decider with a terrific piece of riding in Heat 14 to edge us ahead for only the second time in the meeting and then the same pairing did the business again. Hopefully this result is a turning point for us now and we can move on.”
Coventry manager Gary Havelock said: “It’s very disappointing, because it’s a meeting we really should have won.
“We missed Josh Bates tonight, and it sums our season up really – we’ve talked about the consistency before, we go to somewhere like King’s Lynn and win, and you look at the teams on paper with no disrespect to Leicester and this is one we should have won.”
Leicester 46 points: Patrick Hougaard 3+1, Aaron Summers 7+1, Nicolai Klindt 10+1, Josh Auty 2, Szymon Wozniak 4, Ludvig Lindgren 12+3 and Paul Starke 8+1
Coventry 44 points: Krzysztof Kasprzak 13, Jason Garrity 4, Danny King 7+1, James Sarjeant 0, Chris Harris 10, Kacper Woryna 7 and Carl Wilkinson 3
