Ipswich skipper Danny King says the Tru7 Group Witches will channel their frustration into chasing victory at Leicester after the Lions held them 45-45 in the Premiership Knockout Cup Final, first leg at Foxhall on Monday.
Despite King racing to 12 points, winning four of his five heats, the visitors denied the Witches an aggregate advantage going into Thursday’s second leg at the Hydroscand Arena.
Suffolk racer Drew Kemp stormed to an impressive 15 points at reserve for the Lions, leaving Ipswich requiring victory in the second leg to lift the trophy.
King admits the Witches left Foxhall frustrated, but he says his side will use that to their advantage.
He said: “There’s a lot to do on Thursday – that’s pretty obvious. I feel we slipped up a little bit. We all struggled here and there in places. But we have nothing to lose on Thursday.
“We go there and it’s a track we all ride well and a place we have won at. We can’t get our heads down too much. We just have to go there and put up a fight. It’s frustrating and we are all frustrated – I can assure you. But we are all up for the challenge now. We are going to use that frustration in our favour and go to Leicester and throw everything at them on Thursday.
“I called it before the meeting – I think we are very evenly matched as teams. They were confident coming in, having got a victory there only a few weeks ago, but I still feel we let it slip.
“Fortunately, we ride their track just as well as they ride ours, so it is do-able. They will have a lot more pressure on them – certainly if we come out there swinging and throw it at them. We’re going there to make a fight of it, and we are not going to give up. We will try and win that trophy.
“We are all frustrated now, but that is to be expected. We will talk and regroup, and we’ll be fully prepared for Thursday.”
FINAL SCORES
IPSWICH TRU7 GROUP WITCHES 45: 1. Tom Brennan 4, 2. Danny King 12, 3. Richard Lawson 8, 4. Scott Nicholls 6+1, 5. Tobiasz Musielak 8, 6. Kevin Juhl Pedersen 2, 7. Jason Edwards 5+2.
LEICESTER LIONS 45: 1. Ryan Douglas 10, 2. Dan Thompson 6+1, 3. Nick Morris 3+1, 4. Kyle Howarth 3, 5. Sam Masters 6+1, 6. Drew Kemp 15, 7. Joe Thompson 2+1.