Ipswich skipper Danny King admits misfortune and mishaps cost his side as the Tru7 Group Witches slipped to a narrow 47-43 loss away to Northampton on Thursday.
The Rowe Motor Oil Premiership champions missed out on a golden opportunity to take a giant stride towards play-off qualification on a night when the sides were never more than six points apart.
A costly disqualification for Tobiasz Musielak in heat six, plus bike failures for Richard Lawson in heat 11 and Tom Brennan in race 14 played their part in costing the Witches what would have been a vital victory in their quest to secure a top-four finish. But a huge race win for Musielak in heat 15 secured Ipswich a precious bonus point 90-89 on aggregate as the Pole topped their scoring on 11 points, while guest Lewis Kerr starred on nine paid 10.
King, who scored seven paid eight, admits victory was there for the taking. He said: “I felt we could have possibly got the win. We had a bit of bad luck in places and a few little errors on track.
“That’s the way it goes sometimes. That’s speedway. Credit to Northampton – they rode hard all meeting, and they deserved the win in the end.
“It was disappointing. We fought hard right to the end, but we just fell short. We’ll take the bonus and keep pushing.”
King admits adapting to Northampton’s brand-new Brafield track, which only opened for the 2026 season, has proved a challenge. He said: “The track was tricky; I am not going to lie. It’s one of these tracks that we don’t come to very often. Being new this year, it can be difficult at times.
“It settled down, but a lot of it was about the start, unfortunately. Everyone has to go from every gate, so it’s down to us to make those starts.
“It’s one of these tracks we are all novices at – it has been differently prepared every time. It’s hard to come here with a setup in mind. Every other track you go to, you have raced 100 times before and you have ridden them all in all conditions, so you can look at your setup book and work out what to run on the bike. Here, it’s a bit of a guessing game.”
King hailed heat-15 partner Musielak for a huge victory that ensured the Witches didn’t leave Brafield empty-handed as he bounced back following his exclusion as he battled Foxes No.1 Niels Kristian Iversen on the back straight in heat six.
He said: “That’s what we knew we needed. Me being a good captain, I told him he was the quickest here, so I told him to pick the gate he wanted, and I tried to tuck in behind him. He was phenomenal.
“I thought he was unlucky when he was excluded earlier in the night. It was very difficult to see from the pits if there was contact or not, but we don’t often jump off in a straight line. One thing we can say is it wasn’t dirty; it was just a racing incident, and I am glad he was okay, got up, carried on and put in the performance he did.”
Next up for the Witches is a huge week of home action, which sees Sheffield visit Foxhall on Monday, before Ipswich hosts Belle Vue on Thursday.
If the Witches can win against the Tigers and overturn a 51-39 aggregate loss from the first leg at Owlerton, this should all but secure their spot in the play-offs. King said: “We just have to concentrate on what we can do. We have two really big meetings next week – two must-wins for us. We need to get the win and the bonus, and that’s the plan for Monday.”
Witches are offering a £5 reduction on admission for their Rowe Motor Oil Premiership clash with Sheffield at Foxhall on Monday night.
With the Witches also racing at home against Belle Vue on Thursday, the club is keen to help fans with the cost of attending two huge home matches in such close proximity.
Fans can now purchase Tigers tickets HERE at £20 for adults and £18 for concessions (fans aged 65 plus and students aged 21 and under), with Young Person tickets for those aged 16-18 priced at £10.
Tickets for Witches’ final two regular-season home matches can be purchased online HERE. They can also be purchased on the night, with cash and card payments accepted.
For those fans unable to make it to Foxhall, they can also enjoy both matches against Sheffield and Belle Vue live on WitchesTV HERE.
FINAL SCORES
NORTHAMPTON FOXES 47: 1. Niels Kristian Iversen 10+3, 2. Kye Thomson 6, 3. Nicolai Klindt 4, 4. Adam Ellis 7, 5. Jaimon Lidsey 11, 6. Mitch McDiarmid 6+1, 7. Luke Harrison 3+1.
IPSWICH TRU7 GROUP WITCHES 43: 1. Richard Lawson 5+2, 2. Lewis Kerr 9+1, 3. Danny King 7+1, 4. Tom Brennan 5, 5. Tobiasz Musielak 11, 6. Kevin Juhl Pedersen 1, 7. Jason Edwards 5.