By David Rowe
All the details ahead of our Premiership fixture with King’s Lynn.
WHEN & WHERE
The ‘Tru Mix’ Witches travel to Norfolk to face the King’s Lynn Stars at the Adrian Flux Arena on Thursday 9th June in a Premiership fixture that starts at 7.30pm.
TEAMS
KING’S LYNN: 1. Richard Lawson 7.84 2. Lewis Kerr 5.43 3. Niels-Kristian Iversen 7.33 4. Thomas Jorgensen 6.05 5. Josh Pickering 7.31 © 6. Richie Worrall 5.33 7. Jack Thomas (RS). Team Manager: Alex Brady
IPSWICH: 1. Jason Doyle 9.84 2. Paul Starke R/R 4.95 3. Danny King 8.00 © 4. Erik Riss 4.62 5. Troy Batchelor 5.44 6. Ben Barker 4.44 7. Danyon Hume (RS). Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins
REFEREE: S.H. Kennett
PREMIERSHIP TABLE
| Team | Meetings | Points |
| Belle Vue | 7 | 14 |
| Ipswich | 6 | 13 |
| Wolverhampton | 5 | 11 |
| Sheffield | 4 | 9 |
| King’s Lynn | 5 | 8 |
| Peterborough | 5 | 0 |
TICKETS
Tickets can be purchased online here and are available on the gate.
THE STORY
The ‘Tru Mix’ Witches travel to Norfolk on Thursday night for the East Anglian derby against local rivals King’s Lynn in the Premiership. Ipswich were in action on Monday night in Manchester, going down 48-42 in a tight contest which saw them return with another league point.
The Witches welcome back Erik Riss who missed Monday at Belle Vue due to his involvement in the Grand Prix qualifier in Debrecen where he finished seventh with eight points, and therefore missed out on one of the four places in the GP Challenge.
The two sides met in Norfolk earlier this season in the League Cup with a depleted Ipswich side going down 56-34, but with a much stronger side this time around the Suffolk side will be hoping it is a different story this time around.
Rider replacement will again be in operation for the injured Paul Starke, which means another busy night is expected for Ben Barker at reserve, and he will be keen to impress against the club he had a spell with in the second half of last season.
FROM THE BOSS
Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins gives us his pre-match thoughts…
“Obviously we go into the meeting looking to win, and if we can back Monday’s point at Belle Vue up with a good result on Thursday then we’ll be in a very good position in the league.
“The way the boys are riding, if a few of them carry on their progress and even step it up a little bit then we can certainly go to King’s Lynn with a great shout of winning there.
“But they are in good form as well, and anything can happen on the night. We’ll definitely go there full of confidence, and looking to take an away victory.
“It will be great to have Erik back, and hopefully Starkey (Paul Starke) will be back sooner rather than later, but I can’t see him being back for Thursday.”
THE STARS
King’s Lynn’s dismal 2021 season is now but a distant memory, and the Stars look set to make a concerted play-off challenge this time around.
They have already triumphed in the League Cup group which also involved the Witches, and are into the Final of that competition where they will face Sheffield.
In the league, they have won two of their five matches, with comfortable home successes over Belle Vue and Peterborough, scoring 50 and 51 points respectively, and they have also shown durability on the road by taking points from narrow defeats at both Belle Vue and then at Foxhall last Thursday.
Captain Josh Pickering has become a true driving force for the Stars, and backed up by the likes of Niels-Kristian Iversen and Richard Lawson, it’s clear that the Adrian Flux Arena is a far tougher place to visit than it was last season.
AWAY DAYS
An adult ticket costs £20, concessions (over 65) and students £18 and children (ages 12-17) £5. Official programmes cost £3. Facilities include free floodlit parking, seated grandstand, covered standing grandstand, restaurant, fully stocked bar and function room, four licenced bar outlets, merchandise stands, toilets and a first aid room. For travel information head here.
For more information about the club head to King’s Lynn’s official website.