LEICESTER completed a quickfire double over Ipswich with an excellent 48-42 victory at Foxhall on Thursday for their second league win this season on the road.
The Watling JCB Lions overcame tough track conditions and the mid-meeting withdrawal of Nick Morris to fashion a tremendous late comeback to take the points.
With four races remaining the Lions were six points down, but they then stunned the home side with back-to-back 5-1s in Heats 12 and 13 before sealing the deal through Ryan Douglas and skipper Sam Masters in Heat 15.
The result is a significant one for the Lions as it moves them three points ahead of the Witches in the league table, and they still have a match in hand.
But it was far from easy going at Foxhall with the track proving tricky for both sides, and the early races were far from a pleasant spectacle for supporters, with additional grading required after just two races.
The Lions conceded two 5-1s in the opening four races, with Drew Kemp the sole winner for the visitors in that spell as he snatched the win from Jason Edwards on the line in Heat 2, with Joe Thompson in third place.
Douglas was on the wrong end of a 5-1 in Heat 1 as was Masters in Heat 4, but both heat leaders would recover to play a major part as the Lions fought back from six points behind.
A 4-2 in Heat 5 headed up by Douglas cut the gap briefly but the Witches responded with a 4-2 of their own in Heat 6 as Masters was edged out by Scott Nicholls whilst Kemp lost his steel shoe and failed to finish.
Dan Thompson showed his track knowledge with a win in Heat 7 but that was the last ride possible for Morris who aggravated a back injury during the race and was then unwell in the pits.
Kemp defeated Tom Brennan to win Heat 8 with Joe Thompson third for a Lions 4-2, but after a shared Heat 9 the Witches rebuilt their lead with Edwards defeating Joe Thompson in the next to put them 33-27 up.
There was drama in Heat 11 with Douglas dominating at the front with the Lions set for a 4-2 as Kemp overtook Kevin Juhl Pedersen for third place – but a last bend fall from Kemp turned it back into a 3-3, and whilst that was a brief frustration it did open up the tactical substitute option in Heat 12 with the gap at six points.
Douglas duly came into the race and then it was Ipswich’s turn to be frustrated as Kemp gated with him as they rode to a 5-1 to cut the Ipswich advantage to two.
Then with the pressure on, Masters and Douglas came up trumps with big starts in Heat 13 to head Tobiasz Musielak in another 5-1, which suddenly put the Lions two points ahead.
The meeting still went down to a last race decider as Dan Thompson won Heat 14 but brother Joe was kept at the back, meaning the Lions needed a share of the finale to take the victory.
But in the event they did far better with Douglas and Masters again doing the job from the gate and preventing Musielak’s every attempt to pass.
Lions boss Stewart Dickson said: “We’re very happy with the win, and as I’ve said previously sometimes it’s about timing at away meetings.
“You need to make the most of getting a result when the home team are not at their strongest, which was the case tonight.
“My riders, all of them, came to me with concerns about the track. Work was carried out, and although initially the first two or three races proved difficult, it did get better as the meeting went on.”
IPSWICH 42: Scott Nicholls 12, Tobiasz Musielak 12, Jason Edwards 7+1, Tom Brennan 6+1, Kevin Juhl Pedersen 3+3, Michael Palm Toft 2+1, Richard Lawson r/r.
LEICESTER 48: Ryan Douglas 14+2, Sam Masters 10+1, Dan Thompson 10, Drew Kemp 10, Joe Thompson 3, Nick Morris 1+1, Kyle Howarth r/r.
Leicester win the aggregate point
Photo credit: JEFF HIGGOTT
