LEICESTER gave their hopes of retaining the Premiership Knockout Cup a huge boost with a stunning 49-41 victory at Sheffield.
It means the Watling JCB Lions simply need to avoid defeat in next Thursday’s return fixture at the Hydroscand Arena, Beaumont Park, to be confirmed as group winners and reach a second successive Cup Final.
Sheffield had raced to a big home win over Belle Vue in their previous Owlerton encounter, but once again the Lions proved to be their bogey side as they extended an impressive recent record in South Yorkshire.
The result was achieved despite top heat-leaders Ryan Douglas and Sam Masters failing to score in their opening rides, as a terrific team performance saw every rider contribute – and reserves Drew Kemp and Joe Thompson dominated their opposite numbers with a total of 13 (paid 16) compared to three (paid four).
It was Thompson’s twin brother Dan who set the tone with a brilliant Heat 1 win over World No.5 Jack Holder after Douglas had been disqualified as had suffered mechanical trouble before the race was stopped for an unsatisfactory start.
Kemp and Joe Thompson then put the Lions ahead with a 5-1 in Heat 2, the latter holding off the challenge of Jye Etheridge, although that lead was cancelled out by consecutive Sheffield 4-2s in the next two races.
A close contest developed with the Lions going back in front in Heat 5 as Dan Thompson this time took the scalp of Chris Holder with Douglas supplying third place.
Masters led Heat 6 but was overhauled by Jack Holder midway through the race as the Tigers levelled again, but Leicester quickly turned the match back in their favour as Kyle Howarth got the better of Josh Pickering with Nick Morris seeing off the early threat of Etheridge.
The Thompson twins packed in behind Anders Rowe for a 3-3 in Heat 8 before a big result in the next as Masters headed Chris Holder whilst Kemp held a clever inside line to see off Leon Flint for a 4-2.
Lions’ four-point lead looked like it could be doubled in Heat 10 as Morris and Howarth held a 5-1 situation over Jack Holder, but the home No.1 showed his class to work his way through for a shared heat.
However, the Tigers were making no significant progress with Douglas taking Heat 11 ahead of Pickering as Dan Thompson for once missed out, and whilst Kemp was overhauled by Chris Holder for the lead in Heat 12 it was still a 3-3 with Morris in third.
Sheffield’s big guns were then thwarted by a sharp start by Douglas in Heat 13 to move Lions close to victory, and this was confirmed in emphatic style with a 5-1 from Howarth and Kemp over Flint and Etheridge in Heat 14.
Jack Holder gave the Tigers a race win in the finale but Douglas and Howarth kept Pickering at the back as the Lions celebrated a fully merited away victory.
Manager Stewart Dickson said: “It was a full seven-rider performance, which is the way the team was built this season, although obviously when I look at the scores there was a big difference at reserve.
“But my top five also rode very well tonight. We got off to a difficult start with Dougy having problems in Heat 1, but we recovered well and whilst it’s probably a surprising result it does show what we’re capable of when we all click.
“We were well worthy of the two points. We gated the way we can gate, and it wasn’t tactical that we never went six points up until after Heat 14! I never said anything to the riders about that, it was just that we couldn’t get away any more than four points until then!
“I made the change in Heat 14 with Drew replacing Joe, and I explained the situation thoroughly to Joe because I don’t think I’ve ever taken a rider out who’d scored paid-seven!
“After Drew’s ride in Heat 12 I felt it was the right call. I was standing with Joe and Dan at the time, and I said it was probably one of the harshest moves I’ve made, but Joe fully understood – and it was a more ‘softly’ Stewart Dickson approach than normal, because Joe had ridden well and deserved an explanation.
“There’s a good feeling in the camp, which is always the way when you win, and we’ve given ourselves a real chance of qualifying for the Final, which didn’t look the case at 7.30pm – but it’s not over yet. We’ve still got a job to do next Thursday, and there’s still something for Sheffield to aim for.”
The result means next Thursday’s clash between the sides at the Hydroscand Arena, Beaumont Park is winner-takes-all, although the Lions have a slight advantage in that they could also afford a draw and still top the group.
PREMIERSHIP KO CUP (NORTH)
SHEFFIELD 41: Jack Holder 12+1, Chris Holder 10, Josh Pickering 9, Anders Rowe 5+1, Jye Etheridge 2+1, Leon Flint 2, Luke Killeen 1.
LEICESTER 49: Ryan Douglas 9, Kyle Howarth 8+2, Drew Kemp 8+1, Dan Thompson 8, Nick Morris 6+1, Joe Thompson 5+2, Sam Masters 5.
