Ipswich skipper Danny King insisted “we can’t let it slip” in a tight race for the Rowe Motor Oil Premiership play-offs after the Tru7 Group Witches lost 48-42 at King’s Lynn on Monday.
Despite Witches riders winning nine of the 15 races at the Adrian Flux Arena, the fact they registered just four heat advantages cost them a vital victory on the road against their East Anglian rivals.
Fourth-placed Ipswich did enough to seal the bonus point 93-86 on aggregate, ensuring they remain two points ahead of the fifth-placed Stars, with the Witches on 19 points and King’s Lynn on 17.
The Suffolk side has a meeting in hand and King is urging his team to make the most of their remaining matches, starting against Sheffield at Foxhall on Thursday evening.
He said: “We can’t let it slip. We have to be on our game. We have held our own all year, and it is important for us and the club to make the play-offs. We’ll keep fighting. We are still in a good position, and it’s down to us to get the play-offs over the line. We need to get some points on the road, and we have a couple of away meetings coming up against Leicester and Northampton, as well as a tough home match against Sheffield.”
While King was pleased to bag the bonus point at King’s Lynn, he’s frustrated that his side couldn’t turn race wins into heat advantages. He said: “It was tough. While we were getting race wins, we weren’t getting many heat advantages.
“It was always tricky, but we kept them honest. It was just a shame we couldn’t get the win.
“The target if all else failed was just to make sure we got the bonus point. It would have been nice to get a couple more points. Some of the lads were struggling with the track a little bit. It was just one of those nights. When you are riding against King’s Lynn, who are such a good team at home, it’s very difficult to have an off night. We just need to keep our heads down, keep scoring points and see where we end up.”
Following Monday’s derby action, the Witches welcome Sheffield to Foxhall on Thursday evening. Advance tickets are available online HERE, with cash payments accepted at turnstiles on race day and card payments available at the entrance to the right.
For those unable to make it to Foxhall on Thursday, you can catch all the action live on WitchesTV HERE.
FINAL SCORES
KING’S LYNN STARS 48: 1. Max Fricke 9+1, 2. Ben Cook 9+1, 3. Jan Kvech 8+1, 4. Cooper Rushen 6, 5. Chris Harris 6+1, 6. Jordan Jenkins 3, 7. Jody Scott 7+3.
IPSWICH TRU7 GROUP WITCHES 42: 1. Richard Lawson 3, 2. Anders Rowe 9+1, 3. Danny King 11, 4. Tom Brennan 5, 5. Tobiasz Musielak 12, 6. Kevin Juhl Pedersen 1, 7. Jason Edwards 1.