By Henry Chard
All the details ahead of our Knockout Cup final second leg fixture with Sheffield.
WHEN & WHERE
The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches host the Sheffield Tigers at Foxhall Stadium on Thursday 5th September in a Knockout Cup final second leg fixture. Parade: 7.30pm, first race: 7:45pm.
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TEAMS
IPSWICH: 1. R/R for Jason Doyle 9.36 2. Adam Ellis 5.61 3. Keynan Rew 5.43 4. Tom Brennan (G) 9.12 5. Danny King © 6.48 6. James Pearson (G) 3.74 7. Dan Thompson (RS). Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins
SHEFFIELD: 1. Jack Holder 8.70 2. Kyle Howarth 5.35 © 3. Chris Holder 8.65 4. Josh Pickering 6.61 5. R/R for Tai Woffinden 8.67 6. Jason Edwards 3.52 7. Dan Gilkes (RS). Team Manager: Simon Stead
REFEREE: C. Gay
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 47–43 Leicester
SEMI-FINALS
First Leg: Birmingham 44-46 Ipswich. Second Leg: Ipswich 51-39 Birmingham
First Leg: King’s Lynn 50-40 Sheffield. Second Leg: Sheffield 54-36 King’s Lynn
FINAL
First Leg: Sheffield 55–35 Ipswich. Second Leg: Ipswich 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 take on Sheffield in the decisive second leg of the Knockout Cup final on Thursday at Foxhall.
The two sides met at Owlerton on Monday as the Tigers ran out 55-35 winners leaving the Witches with a mountain to climb if they are to retain the trophy. Ipswich’s season has been decimated by injuries and they remain without the world class talents of Jason Doyle and Emil Sayfutdinov. Tom Brennan guests for the injured Sayfutdinov and rider replacement will be in operation at number one after being unable to secure a guest rider for the fixture.
Sadly on Wednesday night, the club suffered another injury as Jordan Jenkins crashed whilst riding for his Championship club and he is going for an X-ray on a suspected broken wrist. James Pearson guests at reserve.
The Witches beat the Tigers 50-40 at Foxhall back in June but also suffered a 38-52 defeat last month against Sheffield. One thing is for certain is that this Ipswich team will be giving it their all on Thursday night as they look to pull off a miraculous turnaround in front of their home supporters.
FROM THE BOSS
Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins gives us his pre-match thoughts…
“We saw in last year’s play-off final what Sheffield did to us in the second leg of that, things happen in sport. We are massive underdogs and face an uphill task, but we will be out there giving it everything. We don’t want to let the trophy go that we have worked so hard for, and the boys have shown enough this year for everyone to know what they are about and how hard they are going to fight.
“Everyone is out there doing everything, but we have lost our top end. If you look at how the bottom end has improved throughout the year in Jordan, Dan and Keynan, they have done their jobs and everything we planned has gone the way we wanted for them this year and they have got into good form at this time of year. Even though we have been losing and had bad results they are still confident because they are doing their jobs well.
“It was great to have Adam back on Monday and he has got a couple of meetings under his belt now which will have him sharper for Thursday. We have Tom coming in and we know how good he can be around Ipswich. It is a team that can win a lot of races at home, and they will all be out there looking to perform at their best and if they all do, we still have a chance.
“We will be running R/R at one for Jason which is far from ideal. Unfortunately, we could not find a suitable guest to fill the spot and it makes the task even harder. All six boys need to be firing anyway and they will all have the opportunity to have extra rides to cover the number one position.
“We need to start well and get momentum going early and keep it going from there. It looks like we will need a near-perfect night from everyone and obviously that is what we will be going out aiming to do.”
THE TIGERS
Sheffield head to Foxhall in prime position to win the Knockout Cup after their big first leg win in South Yorkshire. The Tigers need just 36 points on Thursday to lift the trophy and they will be full of confidence having beaten an injury-hit Ipswich in Suffolk just a few weeks ago.
The visitors are without Tai Woffinden and will operate rider replacement at number five.
Press Officer at Ipswich Speedway