By Henry Chard
All the details ahead of our Knockout Cup quarter-final second leg fixture with Leicester.
WHEN & WHERE
The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches host the Leicester Lions at Foxhall Stadium on Thursday 30th May in a Knockout Cup quarter-final second leg fixture. Parade: 7.30pm, first race: 7:45pm.
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TEAMS
IPSWICH: 1. Emil Sayfutdinov 9.65 © 2. Dan Thompson 4.46 (RS) 3. Scott Nicholls (G) 7.50 4. Troy Batchelor (G) 5.74 5. R/R for Jason Doyle 9.18 6. Keynan Rew 4.00 7. Jordan Jenkins 3.83. Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins
LEICESTER: 1. Max Fricke 8.51 © 2. Richard Lawson 6.56 3. Sam Masters 6.91 4. Ryan Douglas 7.31 5. Luke Becker 6.45 6. Craig Cook 4.39 7. Sam Hagon (RS). Team Manager: Stewart Dickson
REFEREE: B. Horley
KNOCKOUT CUP DRAW
QUARTER-FINALS
First Leg: Belle Vue 49-41 Sheffield. Second Leg: Sheffield 49–41 Belle Vue – Sheffield win super heat
First Leg: Leicester 42-48 Ipswich. Second Leg: Ipswich – Leicester
SEMI-FINALS
Birmingham vs Ipswich/Leicester
King’s Lynn vs Sheffield
TICKETS
Tickets are available to buy online (until 7pm on raceday) and on the gate and are priced at £23 for adults and £21 for concessions (65+) & students (21 & under). Tickets for children aged 6-16 are £1 whilst children 5 & under go free. Official programmes are priced at £3.50 and are available at the stadium. Car parking is free for all supporters. Debit and credit card payments are accepted. Turnstiles open at 6.40pm.
THE STORY
The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches race the decisive second leg fixture against Leicester on Thursday at Foxhall in the Knockout Cup quarter-final.
The Witches were racing on Monday at Birmingham and despite being without three key riders they pushed the Brummies all night before succumbing to a 49-41 defeat and losing the aggregate bonus point after a super heat. It was a rare league defeat, but attentions now turn to the Knockout Cup with a place in the semi-final up for grabs for the holders.
The hosts are still without three of their big hitters for this crucial cup tie. Skipper Danny King is nearing a return after an operation on his hand but is not ready to return just yet. Grand Prix star Jason Doyle is on the sidelines with cracked ribs and a sore shoulder whilst Adam Ellis is also unavailable after dislocating his shoulder. Rider replacement is in operation to cover Doyle whilst Scott Nicholls and Troy Batchelor come in as guests for King and Ellis.
Ipswich hold a six-point lead over the Lions following a 48-42 win in the first leg and it will need a big effort on Thursday to see the Suffolk side finish the job and progress to the final four of the competition.
FROM THE BOSS
Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins gives us his pre-match thoughts…
“On the injury front, I’m afraid there is nothing new to report, we have three injuries, and I don’t know when they are going to be back, it is too early to say at the moment.
“We go into Thursday with half a side again and bringing in a couple of guests. Luckily, we are bringing in two guests that know the club and track well who are not attached to other Premiership clubs at the moment. It is frustrating to have the injury problems we have now, we have had it before when we have had a really terrible week and lost three riders and that threw our season off. Luckily, we are in a stronger position at the moment than we were then, and we go into Thursday with a six-point lead and even with our problems we are determined and confident to win the meeting and progress to the next round.
“Leicester are a good side and have a lot of good riders and I think it would be a tough test even with our full side out. We saw two years ago what Batch can do when he clicks in, and we all know how good Scotty can be, so we are more than capable of covering the injuries if we all perform. We need to stick to together and for everyone to rally round each other as we still have a good chance of progressing.”
THE LIONS
Leicester have had a somewhat difficult start to 2024 having already suffered three defeats on home shale. One of those was that Knockout Cup quarter-final first leg defeat to Ipswich but they will fancy their chances in Suffolk of overturning that six-point deficit with Ipswich’s injury troubles. They come into the fixture after a big confidence-boosting win against Oxford on Monday night in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership.
The visitors made a team change this month with Sam Hagon replacing Joe Thompson as their Rising Star. The Lions have also made another team change this week with Craig Cook replacing Drew Kemp at reserve.
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