THE SCORES…
PETERBOROUGH 39: Charles Wright 14, Rohan Tungate 7, Aaron Summers 6+1, Hans Andersen © 6, Ben Barker 3, Lasse Bjerre 2+1, Bradley Wilson-Dean 1+1. Team Manager: Carl Johnson
IPSWICH 51: Richard Lawson 9+2, Jake Allen 9, Chris Harris 9, Cameron Heeps 8+2, Danny King © 8, Krystian Pieszczek 4+1, David Bellego 4+1. Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins
REFEREE: M. Bates
VENUE: East of England Arena & Events Centre
PREMIERSHIP TABLE
| Team | Meetings | Points |
| Ipswich | 4 | 10 |
| Wolverhampton | 3 | 9 |
| Poole | 3 | 6 |
| Peterborough | 5 | 5 |
| Swindon | 2 | 4 |
| Belle Vue | 4 | 4 |
| King’s Lynn | 3 | 3 |
WHAT HAPPENED?
The ‘Tru Plant’ Witches recorded their first away win of the season with a convincing 51-39 win at Peterborough on Monday night in the Premiership.
The away side flew out of the traps and dominated from the off as they built up a 14-point lead after heat eight. There was only going to be one winner on the night and although the home team reduced the margin of defeat, the Witches saw out the win to collect four league points. Richard Lawson top scored for Ipswich with 9+1.
The evening did not start well for Lasse Bjerre as he went through the tapes in heat one and was excluded with Aaron Summers coming in as a replacement. Lawson continued his good form with a win in the re-run almost setting a new track record in the process as he beat Summers with Chris Harris in third for an early heat advantage to the away side. As has been the case in recent away meetings, the Witches continued their strong start as Jake Allen won, once again almost setting a new track record and partner Cameron Heeps joined him at the front after passing Summers for second. The Witches were dominant early on as they banged in another 5-1 in heat three as David Bellego joined Danny King out front after a clever move on the second turn and this time a new track record was set by the captain. After a superb start the Witches found themselves 14-4 up.
Krystian Pieszczek didn’t get off the start in heat four as his bike packed up but it was a fine race between the remaining three riders. Allen, Rohan Tungate and Bradley Wilson-Dean were close throughout, but it was the Ipswich man who took the chequered flag after a great move up the inside of Tungate heading into the final lap. Heat five was stopped as Harris clashed with Charles Wright going into the third turn and the Peterborough rider hit the deck with Harris excluded from the re-run. There was a delay to the restart, with the sun causing issues heading into the third bend it was decided to wait for it to go down before racing resumed. When the action did get going, Wright passed Lawson to win, meaning a first heat advantage to the home team with Ben Barker collecting the point. Heat six was stopped after a tight first bend with all four called back for the re-run. Pieszczek and Heeps stormed to another 5-1 to the visitors in the re-run to put the away side in control of the tie, leading 24-12.
Tungate won heat seven ahead of King as Summers picked up a point for a 4-2 to the hosts. Allen was having a stunning evening and he won again in heat eight and as Bjerre went too wide trying to take the lead, Lawson took advantage and went into second for yet another 5-1 to the Suffolk side. Wright won heat nine with Heeps in second as Pieszczek retired, meaning a 4-2 to the home team that made the score 33-21 to the Witches.
King won a shared heat 10 before Harris did the same in heat 11 to edge the Witches closer to the win. Wright was brought in as a tactical substitute in heat 12 and he did the job by winning as Heeps took second ahead of Barker and the Panthers recorded a 4-2 that left them 41-31 down.
Hans Andersen won a shared heat 13 with the Witches just needing one finisher in the final two races to confirm the victory. Wright was having a good night for the home side and he won again in heat 14 as Bellego came between the Panthers pair but the heat advantage meant nothing to the hosts as the visitors confirmed their win with a race to spare. The icing was on the cake as the Witches finished the night with a 5-1 thanks to Harris and Lawson as Andersen had mechanical issues on the first turn. That maximum gave Ipswich a convincing 51-39 win on the road to send the travelling fans home happy.
RIDER OF THE NIGHT…
Every rider contributed to this fantastic victory away from home but if pushed it I suppose you would have to say Allen impressed again scoring 9 from reserve with three race wins.
KEY MOMENT…
The start was key for the Witches and as Pieszczek and Heeps produced a 5-1 in heat six thanks to some determined and mature riding, they had already built up a 12-point lead that set the tone for the evening.
WHAT IT MEANS…
The Witches take the maximum four points from the meeting that puts them top of the table at this early stage. The Panthers get nothing that leaves them on five points from five meetings.
WHAT’S NEXT?
The ‘Tru Plant’ Witches host the Poole Pirates at Foxhall on Thursday 16th May in a Premiership Supporters Cup fixture at 7.30pm.
AROUND THE TRACKS…
Wolverhampton continued their 100% record this season with a 51-39 win over King’s Lynn at Monmore Green on Monday night.