LEICESTER remain outside the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership play-off places after a heavy 60-30 defeat at leaders Ipswich on Thursday.
The Watling JCB Lions are one point behind fourth placed Oxford as the halfway stage of the campaign approaches, with their match in hand on the Spires to come at Belle Vue on Monday, having gone down to their biggest loss of the season in Suffolk.
They were unable to build on an ideal start at Foxhall which saw Richard Lawson and Max Fricke race to a 5-1 in Heat 1 with home guest Scott Nicholls failing to finish.
But the Lions were then hit by a barrage of three successive Witches 5-1s with the home reserves taking a maximum in Heat 2 whilst Adam Ellis passed Sam Masters for second place behind Danny King in the next.
Lawson grabbed a second win in Heat 5 but the Lions’ task became even tougher when Craig Cook crashed heavily in Heat 6 and was withdrawn from the remainder of the meeting.
Cook was in discomfort when making his way off the track, suffering with pain around the bottom of his neck, and he will be assessed over the next day for any possible nerve damage.
And when Emil Sayfutdinov forced Masters wide in the early stages of Heat 7 to create space for Keynan Rew to join him, the Witches were already 14 points up.
There was little respite to follow with Lawson’s winning run ending in Heat 8 as Dan Thompson and Jordan Jenkins came through at the end of the first lap, and whilst Ryan Douglas managed to split Ellis and King in Heat 9, the next saw another Witches maximum with Luke Becker timed out following mechanical issues.
Lions did collect a 4-2 in Heat 11 thanks to a late stroke of fortune when Sayfutdinov suffered bike trouble on the last bend enabling Lawson, who was easily the visitors’ best rider on the night, to snatch the win.
The next two races were shared with Lawson taking a tactical substitute ride in Heat 12, but he lost out to King in the battle for first place, whilst Fricke held off Nicholls to win Heat 13.
However, it was the Witches who finished strongest as Ellis combined with Rew for a 5-1 over Becker in Heat 14, and a further maximum in the last from Nicholls and Sayfutdinov over Lawson and Fricke took the home side to the 60-point mark, leaving the Lions with much to consider.
Manager Stewart Dickson said: “I never expected this Leicester team to be only scoring 30 points at any track, regardless of who the opposition are.
“We’ve been to Ipswich before and given them a closer match, as have other teams, and there were a couple of really disappointing performances.
“I think it’s fair to say this is the lowest point I’ve experienced in my time at Leicester, where we have had a lot of good times, and there might not be a lot of sympathy out there because of the changes I’ve made to try and strengthen us up.
“But collectively the riders have a responsibility as well, and the scores and the averages don’t lie. We can’t keep changing, but it’s something that can’t go on indefinitely.
“I know in the big scheme of things losing to Ipswich is not the end of things, it’s the meetings coming up against King’s Lynn and then Birmingham and Oxford which will be crucial.
“But we can’t accept that performance, and I must apologise to the Leicester fans who made the trip to support us. We all need to help each other, myself and the riders, and we need to show a reaction.”
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R1
IPSWICH 60: Emil Sayfutdinov 11+2, Scott Nicholls 11, Danny King 9, Adam Ellis 8+3, Keynan Rew 8+1, Dan Thompson 7+1, Jordan Jenkins 6+3.
LEICESTER 30: Richard Lawson 13, Max Fricke 6+1, Sam Masters 4+1, Ryan Douglas 4, Luke Becker 1, Craig Cook 1, Sam Hagon 1.
Ipswich win the aggregate point
