The ‘Tru7.com’ Witches suffered a narrow defeat to the Glasgow Tigers on Thursday evening at Foxhall losing 46-44.
There was nothing to separate the two teams throughout the meeting before the away side snatched the win in the final heat with a 4-2. Ben Barker top scored for the Witches with 10.
Richard Lawson won heat one for the visitors in a shared heat before the Tigers took an early lead in heat two thanks to Danny Ayres and Fernando Garcia who eased to a 5-1. The Witches pulled two points back though in heat three as Nico Covatti won ahead of Richie Worrall with Morten Risager in third. Heat four produced a good battle between Barker and Aaron Summers with the Witches man coming out on top but partner Ollie Greenwood couldn’t get into the points and the heat was shared leaving the Tigers 13-11 up after four heats.
Lawson won again in heat five in another shared heat before the Witches went ahead for the first time in the meeting in heat six thanks to Danny King and James Sarjeant who recorded a 5-1. The home side were not ahead for long though as the Tigers levelled things straight away in heat seven. Worrall won out in front but it was the battle at the back between Paco Castagna and Rene Bach that caught the eye with the Tigers man coming out on top. Sarjeant went through the tapes in heat eight and was replaced by Castagna. The re-run was stopped after Greenwood fell on the first turn with all four back the referee’s decision. The third attempt was also stopped after Greenwood and Garcia came together on the back straight of the third lap with Garcia excluded for the incident. Worrall won the fourth attempt to prevent a Witches heat advantage, leaving it all square at 24-24.
Heat nine was another stop-start affair with Garcia this time going through the tapes and being replaced by Ayres. The re-run was also stopped after Ayres fell on the second bend and he was excluded from the re-run. Covatti and Risager gated once more at the third attempt and stayed at the front to give the Witches the lead again recording a 5-1. Worrall’s fine form continued in heat 10 as he won again with King passing Bach to get into second and prevent a 5-1. The Witches lead was back to four points though after heat 11 as Barker won with Castagna in third. The Tigers wouldn’t be shaken off though and once again reduced the lead to two as the impressive Worrall won heat 12 after a great battle with Covatti with Garcia coming into third after Castagna suffered bike problems on the third lap, making it 37-35 to the Witches with three to go.
It was all level again after heat 12 as Lawson won a terrific battle with Barker to come out on top after the pair had traded moves with Summers in third for the heat advantage. Heat 14 was another entertaining heat as the Tigers pair of Bach and Ayres gated on a 5-1. However, Risager got past Ayres on lap two and then Castagna then also passed him on the final lap to ensure a share of the spoils and a last heat decider.
It wasn’t to be for the Witches as that man Worrall once again won out in front with Lawson in third to take a 4-2 and snatch a 46-44 win at Foxhall.
Team Manager Ritchie Hawkins admitted the Witches have it all to do this season but says they will carry on fighting.
“We are making life very hard for ourselves and the rest of the season. It’s going to be an uphill battle but we need to pick ourselves up, re-group and battle on for the points tomorrow night at Edinburgh.”
Ipswich ‘Tru7.com’ Witches 44
Danny King (c) 8+1
James Sarjeant 4+1
Nico Covatti 9+1
Morten Risager 7+1
Ben Barker 10
Paco Castagna 4+1
Oliver Greenwood 2+1
Glasgow ‘Allied Vehicles’ Tigers 46
Richard Lawson 12
Richie Worrall 17
Rene Bach 5
Aaron Summers (c) 5
Fernando Garcia 3+1
Danny Ayres 4+1
Premier League table
| Team | Pl | Pts |
| Glasgow | 9 | 19 |
| Somerset | 6 | 19 |
| Sheffield | 9 | 19 |
| Peterborough | 8 | 17 |
| Berwick | 8 | 12 |
| Rye House | 6 | 11 |
| Workington | 7 | 11 |
| Newcastle | 6 | 11 |
| Plymouth | 7 | 10 |
| Edinburgh | 5 | 8 |
| Witches | 7 | 6 |
| Redcar | 8 | 5 |
| Scunthorpe | 6 | 3 |
Next meeting: PL 10th June vs Edinburgh (away)