By Henry Chard
All the details ahead of our Sports Insure Premiership play-off final second leg fixture with Sheffield.
WHEN & WHERE
The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches travel to Sheffield to face the Tigers at Owlerton Stadium on Thursday 5th October in a Sports Insure Premiership play-off final second leg fixture that starts at 7.30pm.
TEAMS
SHEFFIELD: 1. Robert Lambert (G) 8.69 2. Kyle Howarth 5.55 © 3. Chris Holder 7.16 4. Josh Pickering 6.78 5. Chris Harris (G) 8.47 6. Jye Etheridge (G) 4.00 7. Jason Edwards (RS). Team Manager: Simon Stead
IPSWICH: 1. Emil Sayfutdinov 10.10 2. Erik Riss 4.84 3. Danny King 7.23 © 4. Keynan Rew 4.00 5. Jason Doyle 9.12 6. Danyon Hume 3.87 7. Joe Thompson (G) (RS). Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins
REFEREE: J. McGregor
SPORTS INSURE PREMIERSHIP TABLE
| Team | Meetings | Points |
| Belle Vue | 24 | 44 |
| Wolverhampton | 24 | 38 |
| Sheffield | 24 | 37 |
| Ipswich | 24 | 34 |
| Leicester | 24 | 34 |
| Peterborough | 24 | 20 |
| King’s Lynn | 24 | 9 |
PLAY-OFF DRAW
SEMI-FINALS
First Leg: Ipswich 54-36 Belle Vue. Second Leg: Belle Vue 51-39 Ipswich
First Leg: Wolverhampton 40-50 Sheffield. Second Leg: Sheffield 39-21 Wolverhampton
FINAL
First Leg: Ipswich 54-36 Sheffield. Second Leg: Sheffield vs Ipswich (Oct 5)
TICKETS
Tickets are available on the gate.
THE STORY
The Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches travel to Sheffield on Thursday for the second leg of the Sports Insure Premiership play-off final.
The two sides met at Foxhall in the first leg on Tuesday and it was the Witches who emerged with an 18-point lead to take into the second leg after a 54-36 victory on home shale. The Suffolk side lost 51-39 on both of their league visits to South Yorkshire this season but more recently in the Knockout Cup final Ipswich were beaten 48-42. A repeat of either of those scorelines would see Ipswich crowned league champions but Ritchie Hawkins’ side will be heading to Owlerton looking to win the meeting, not just defend their lead.
Former Witch Joe Thompson is the guest again for his injured brother Dan in the Rising Star position with the Witches unchanged from Tuesday’s win. Jason Doyle had medical checks on Tuesday night following his heat four crash but has no breaks and has declared himself fit to ride. It promises to be another tense night away from home in the play-offs with plenty of travelling fans making the trip north hoping to see their side complete a historic league and cup double in 2023.
FROM THE BOSS
Ipswich ‘Tru Mix’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins gives us his pre-match thoughts…
“We are in a similar position to the semi-final with a big lead, but we are going to a team that we know are going to be very strong on their home track. We saw them turnover Wolves last week and they were superb in the semi-final. We need to go into it, looking to win it and carry on what we have been doing. We are doing everything right at the minute, everything is rolling our way but at some point, Sheffield will get on top and we need to make sure we keep on fighting like we did at Belle Vue and like we have done all season when our backs have been against the wall. One more meeting, let’s go and do it.
“They are going to be fired up, they want to win the league. We are battling for the top prize in British speedway, and nobody is just going to give it to us on a plate and the boys know that. They have shown this season that they are fully prepared for Thursday, and they don’t want to let anything stand in their way. Hopefully we can carry on what we have been doing and walk away as champions.
“We have done well there this year and got ourselves in good positions but not quite pushed on at certain times. We are going to need everything to go right for us on Thursday, but we know we have a lot of riders capable of winning races around there and that is what we will need to do.”
THE TIGERS
Sheffield finished as runners-up in 2022 and will be keen to avoid history repeating itself in front of their home fans on Thursday. The Tigers have a strong record at home with just one defeat at Owlerton this season and the club will need a big performance as they look to overturn an 18-point deficit. The hosts have won by 18 points or more on seven occasions in all competitions in 2023 at their home track and will be confident in their ability to do so again on the biggest stage.
The hosts are again without Tai Woffinden, Tobiasz Musielak and Claus Vissing due to injury. Robert Lambert guests at number one as he did on Tuesday whilst Chris Harris is in at number five. Jye Etheridge is the guest at reserve on this occasion.
AWAY DAYS
An adult ticket costs £22, concessions £20 and children (aged 17 and under) £1. Official programmes cost £3. All the stadium is open except the back straight which remains closed for safety reasons. There is seating in the Panorama Room, which also boasts a restaurant and bar overlooking the track. There is a fast-food bar, and the Panorama Room Restaurant also offers a ‘Speedway Special’ carvery with a choice of meats. The Panorama Room Restaurant has large bar with ideal viewing facilities in addition to the carvery. Reserve your table now by calling Owlerton Stadium on 01142 343074. For travel information head here.
For more information about the club head to Sheffield’s official website.
Digital Media Manager at Ipswich Speedway