Elite League
Ipswich 83 : Lewis Roberts 15, Jamie Chittock 13, Ashley Hill 12, Josh Brooke 11, Leigh Cossey 11, Leon Mower 9, Phil Adams 6,Jordan Stant 6 .
Sheffield 93 : Matt Smith 16, Radek Handke 16, Andy Angell 14, Jamie Ball 12, Ryan Hoylnad 11, Jake Read 10, Lee Smith 8, Dan Chambers 6 .
Referee : Terry Ashford (Suffolk ) .
Ipswich went into this BCTG Elite league contest looking to build on their success of recent weeks with a victory over their visitors the Sheffield Stars and with the Sky cameras there they were keen to impress and continue their learning curve in this top tier league of racing . A sizeable crowd was present with many new faces watching for the first time and they would have left entertained as both sets of riders gave no quarter with every heat well contested.
Heat one started with a shared heat with Chittock / Brooke relegating British champion Angell to the back, the only time he was to be beaten by an Ipswich rider, Heat two saw Ipswich nudge in front after Hoyland was excluded for cutting across his opponent, 5-4 Ipswich .
Sheffield responded in the very next heat when Handke/Read got the better of Cossey / Roberts to win the heat 6-4 to put the visitors one point up. The Brooke /Hill partnership then looked to have got the better of the Smith’s Lee and Matt and a maximum 7-3 was on the cards when on the last lap and with Brooke seemly in control Matt Smith looked to move inside the Ipswich rider on the last bend and as when the two came together Smith lose his balance and came off. To the amazement of Brooke who was starting to think he had secured the points for Ipswich, referee Terry Ashford adjudged that Brooke had used excessive force and was excluded. The heat was awarded 5-4 to Sheffield.
Heat five saw Chittock /Stant snatch a shared heat after a lovely switch by Stant on Chambers on the very last bend saw them split the Sheffield pairing. Heat six went the way of Ipswich 6-4 after some great ream riding from Roberts /Cossey over Ball/Hoyland took the overall scores level and not to be out done Brooke /Chittock secured a 6-3 after Handke was giving a tape exclusion, and for the second time move Ipswich in front.
In the very next heat, disaster for the home team as Angell /Smith proved to be too strong for Mower/Adams , 7-3 Sheffield to take the lead again , the last heat of an eventful first half ended all square .
Half time Ipswich 43 Sheffield 44 .
The second half started well for the home team with Ball being exclude for forcing Roberts onto the centre green ,the re-run saw Chambers able to split the home team riders but for the third time Ipswich edge themselves in front by two points. In keeping with the match Sheffield duly drew level through Handke/Read taking a 6-4 heat advantage in eleven .
Heat twelve was shared , then in heats thirteen to fifteen the visitors took control and dished out three heats wins in a row and for the first time in the match some daylight appeared between the two well contested teams to open up an eight point lead.
Heat sixteen was shared and then in seventeen Brooke/Hill restored
some pride back into the home team winning 6-4 over Hoyland/Read to reduce the lead to six points ,with the match effectively won by Sheffield, Ipswich sent out youngsters Roberts /Stant to line up against the pairing of Handke /Angell ,but for Sheffield pairing were too strong for them and secured a comfortable 7-3 making the final score Ipswich 83 Sheffield 93.
The home team can be proud that they put up a good showing against one of the best teams in the league and made sure they had to work for their two points today so on we move to a little matter of taking on champions Horspath next time out. It doesn’t get any easier this league .