THE SCORES…
KING’S LYNN 57: Erik Riss 14, Michael Palm Toft 12+2, Lewis Kerr © 10+2, Thomas Jorgensen 9+2, Craig Cook 9+2, Nicklas Porsing 3+1. Team Manager: Peter Schroeck
IPSWICH 33: Danny King © 16, Richard Lawson 5+1, Chris Harris 4, Krystian Pieszczek 3+1, Jake Allen 3, Cameron Heeps 1 (Withdrawn), Edward Kennett 1. Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins
REFEREE: C. Turnbull
VENUE: Adrian Flux Arena
PREMIERSHIP TABLE
| Team | Meetings | Points |
| Poole | 16 | 36 |
| Ipswich | 18 | 36 |
| Belle Vue | 19 | 32 |
| Wolverhampton | 16 | 25 |
| Swindon | 14 | 24 |
| King’s Lynn | 16 | 22 |
| Peterborough | 17 | 17 |
WHAT HAPPENED?
The ‘Tru Plant’ Witches were well beaten at King’s Lynn on Monday night in the Premiership as they lost 57-33.
The visitors started slowly and never recovered as they also lost Cameron Heeps to injury after heat five of the contest. Danny King provided the Ipswich resistance scoring 16 points.
Craig Cook took the rider replacement ride in heat one for the home side with captain Robert Lambert missing through injury and he partnered Michael Palm Toft to a 5-1 to the Stars to start the night. They doubled their lead in heat two as Lewis Kerr and Nicklas Porsing made it consecutive maximums with the Witches not in the contest in the early stages. Heat three was stopped with Ipswich captain King receiving a warning for moving at the start. In the re-run Thomas Jorgensen got the better of King to win as Erik Riss took third for a 4-2 to King’s Lynn that gave them a commanding 14-4 lead.
Cook won heat four comfortably ahead of Krystian Pieszczek and Richard Lawson in the first 3-3 of the night. Things were not going well for the Witches and in heat five Heeps hit the deck in the first turn as partner Chris Harris was also caught up in the crash. All four riders were called back for the re-run but it was stopped again as Jorgensen looked to have brought down Heeps but it was the Ipswich man who was excluded. The Australian received medical attention following the fall as the hosts hit a 5-1 in the re-run. Riss was the rider replacement in heat six and he won as Palm Toft passed both Edward Kennett and Lawson to complete another 5-1, leaving King’s Lynn 27-9 ahead with the Witches struggling badly.
King was the only rider providing any resistance at this stage and he won heat seven but with Jake Allen at the back, it was a 3-3. Heeps was forced to withdraw from the meeting following his crash in heat five, making a hard task even harder for the Witches. Allen replaced the injured Heeps in heat eight, but it was Palm Toft who won ahead of Allen and Pieszczek. King replaced Kennett in heat nine as a tactical substitute and he duly won as Riss came second ahead of Lawson. That 4-2 to the visitors made the score 35-19 to King’s Lynn.
King was in fine form and he won heat 10 for the away side but Allen was passed by both home riders as the heat ended in a 3-3. Kennett replaced the injured Heeps in heat 11 as the race was called back with Harris warned for moving at the start. The Ipswich number one won the re-run holding off Kerr and Cook as the points were shared with Kennett retiring at the back. Pieszczek replaced Kennett in heat 12 as Riss won ahead of King and Porsing took third for a 4-2 to the Stars, making it 45-27, with the meeting comfortably won for the hosts.
Palm Toft won heat 13 and was joined at the front by Cook but Cook fell allowing Lawson into second. With Harris retired at the back, Cook remounted and got a point for a King’s Lynn heat advantage. Kerr and Jorgensen raced to a 5-1 in heat 14 before King completed a fantastic individual night by winning a shared heat 15. That left the final score 57-33 to the home side, on a night for forget for Ipswich.
RIDER OF THE NIGHT…
No contest for this one. Captain King was the only Witch to provide any proper resistance all night, scoring 16 points from six rides that included four race wins.
KEY MOMENT…
The Witches were already up against it going into heat five being 10 points down but what was to come made matters worse. Heeps and Harris fell on the first bend, but both were able to get up and take their place in the re-run. In the second staging of the heat, Heeps took a heavy fall after battling with Jorgensen and it looked for all the world like the King’s Lynn rider would be excluded for the incident. However, Heeps ended up being excluded and he was subsequently withdrawn from the meeting due to the injury sustained in the crash. The Stars went on and recorded a 5-1 and there was no coming back for Ipswich.
WHAT IT MEANS…
King’s Lynn take three points that keeps them in the hunt for a play-off spot, Ipswich stay second in the table and do not add to their points tally.
WHAT’S NEXT?
The ‘Tru Plant’ Witches travel to Dorset to face the Poole Pirates at Wimborne Road on Thursday 8th August in a Premiership fixture at 7.30pm.
AROUND THE TRACKS…
Wolverhampton beat Belle Vue 54-36 at Monmore Green.