MEETING SPONSORS
Fred. Olsen Logistics – Fred. Olsen Logistics offers a complete start to finish operation in freight forwarding and logistics services, their offices based in Ipswich and Felixstowe are perfectly located near to Britain’s largest container port with direct links worldwide as well as fantastic road and rail links across the UK.
The Fat Cat Ipswich – They are a small, friendly Free House where you can enjoy a wide selection of up to fifteen real ales served straight from the cask from our temperature-controlled tap room. Also, on offer are up to five real ciders as well as a selection of gins, whiskies, rums, wines and Belgian beers. They are a pub about the beer and the people so whether it is lively debate you’re after or a quiet pint in the greenery filled garden, you can find it there!
The Fat Cat Colchester – Fat Cat Colchester is a well-established free house serving a great selection of ales, wines, spirits and food. You’ll be warmly greeted by their friendly atmosphere, the oak bar with a row of hand pumps advertising a selection of real ales. Above the bar, a blackboard details the wide range of beers sourced locally, nationally and from abroad.
SCORECARD
IPSWICH 45: Jason Doyle 12, Danny King © 6+1, Adam Ellis 6, Tom Brennan 3, Emil Sayfutdinov 14+1 (Paid Maximum), Dan Thompson 2, Jason Edwards (G) (RS) 2+1. Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins
KING’S LYNN 45: Niels-Kristian Iversen R/R, Richard Lawson 5+2, Chris Harris 12+2, Lewis Kerr (G) 6+1, Jan Kvěch 6+2, Nicolai Klindt © 14+1, Luke Harrison (G) (RS) 2+2. Team Manager: Rob Lyon
REFEREE: D. Watters
KNOCKOUT CUP DRAW
QUARTER-FINALS
First Leg: Birmingham 33-57 Leicester. Second Leg: Leicester 46-44 Birmingham
First Leg: King’s Lynn 53-37 Oxford. Second Leg: Oxford 37-53 King’s Lynn
First Leg: Belle Vue 40-50 Ipswich. Second Leg: Ipswich 67-23 Belle Vue
SEMI-FINALS
First Leg: Leicester 54-36 Sheffield. Second Leg: Sheffield 44-46 Leicester
First Leg: King’s Lynn 48-42 Ipswich. Second Leg: Ipswich 45-45 King’s Lynn
THE REPORT
The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches exited the Knockout Cup after a draw in the second leg of their semi-final against King’s Lynn at Foxhall.
The visitors held a six-point lead from the first leg at the Adrian Flux Arena and arrived in Suffolk without Niels-Kristian Iversen and Ben Cook with rider replacement in operation at one and Lewis Kerr guesting at four. The Witches were missing the injured Jordan Jenkins as Jason Edwards stepped in at number seven. There was nothing to separate the two sides for the duration of the meeting as the away side secured their progress in the competition after an incident-filled heat 14. Emil Sayfutdinov top scored with a 14+1 paid maximum.
It was the perfect start in heat one as Jason Doyle and Danny King hit a 5-1 for the home team. Nicolai Klindt won a shared heat two and the visitors levelled the score on the night with a maximum of their own in heat three. Sayfutdinov took victory in a shared heat four making it 12-12 with the Stars maintaining their six-point lead on aggregate.
Adam Ellis won heat five but with partner Tom Brennan relegated to the back it was a 3-3. King fell on the first turn of heat six and was excluded and in the re-run, Doyle picked up the three points to ensure the away side couldn’t extend their aggregate lead. The 3-3s continued in heat seven as Sayfutdinov couldn’t be caught and King bounced back from his fall to win heat eight in a 4-2 to Ipswich that put them 25-23 up on the evening but still trailing by four points on aggregate.
The away side went in front in the tie and extended their aggregate lead with a 5-1 in heat nine. Doyle picked up his third win of the meeting in heat 10 with King third for a heat advantage to level the score. Sayfutdinov won a shared heat 11 but the away side took a huge step towards winning the tie in heat 12 thanks to a maximum which put them 38-34 in front and 10 points ahead on aggregate with just three heats to race.
There was a delay before heat 13 as King’s Lynn team manager Rob Lyon asked the referee if Luke Harrison had to take his third ride by the end of heat 14 and once that query was eventually resolved Doyle and Sayfutdinov raced to a maximum to keep the tie just about alive. However, it was all over after heat 14. With the Witches needing a heat advantage to take it to a last-heat decider, Brennan hit the front as Dan Thompson found a way past Kerr to join him only for Kerr to come back under him going into the first turn late on in the race, and the Ipswich reserve hit the fence. The referee decided to exclude the Witches rider and award the 3-3 which meant the tie was over. Sayfutdinov completed a paid maximum by winning a shared heat 15 as Doyle hit the deck, ending a disappointing night for the Witches.
RITCHIE HAWKINS REACTION
Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins reflects on Thursday’s draw with King’s Lynn…
“It was a very bad night, we didn’t rise to the occasion at all, and we faltered massively. We had a massive opportunity to get to the cup final, but we made too many mistakes and didn’t perform anywhere near to our capability. We have missed out on another cup final, and we were in a good position to make it, but we didn’t take it. We certainly need to learn our lessons from tonight and remember the feeling because everyone is absolutely gutted. We need to take this feeling into the play-offs and make sure we don’t feel this way again and achieve bigger things.
“We need to assess as a team where we have gone wrong because we are a far better team than we have shown. This meeting tonight should be well within our capabilities to get through and we didn’t perform bar our top two who were very strong. We need to back them up better and we have done that for the majority of the season, but we didn’t tonight, and we faltered massively. We need to write it off very quickly and get our heads back focused and look towards the play-offs because that is the number one goal. It is a big disappointment for us, there is no overlooking that, we have failed tonight but that doesn’t mean we can’t succeed in the future.
“Tom was on the wrong end of everything all night, he won the big heat 14 which he needed to, but it was a really tough night for him, and it happened at the wrong time. There was no lack of effort from the boys, that was there from everyone, but it did not work out for us, and we did not get on the right end of anything, and we weren’t strong enough to cope with the occasion. We need to make sure that doesn’t happen again going forward.
“It was a tough night for Dan; he will get them at his age. In heat 14 he looked close to producing a hero’s ride but that’s how close you are in sport sometimes, going from hero to zero, to use the expression. I certainly can’t fault him, he has been suffering from a bad ear infection all week and it no doubt affected him but when we needed him, he stepped up to the plate and heat 14 was just one of them. I can’t fault anyone wanting to try and win the meeting and I was happy to see him put it all on the line, but we shouldn’t have been in that position anyway going into heat 14.
“It was just hard racing in heat 14, I don’t think the referee did anything wrong. It is one of those things and I have no complaints.
“Emil was superb, as was Jason. They were doing the business, and we had a lot of race winners, but we had a lot of falls and exclusions and points thrown away which on a night like this you can’t afford.”
FAT CAT & FRED. OLSEN LOGISTICS RIDERS OF THE NIGHT
Fred. Olsen Logistics awarded it to Sayfutdinov after he went the night unbeaten by an opponent.
Fat Cat opted for King.
WHAT IT MEANS
Ipswich’s interest in the cup ends as King’s Lynn meet Leicester in the final.
NEXT FIXTURE
The Ipswich ‘Tru7 Group’ Witches host the Birmingham Brummies at Foxhall on Thursday 24th July in a ROWE Motor Oil Premiership fixture. Tickets can be purchased on the gate and in advance here.
Press Officer at Ipswich Speedway