Ipswich Witches play off hopes hanging by a thread after defeat at Belle Vue
Witches lost 49 - 41 on the road last night
Ipswich Witches are facing a tough challenge if they're to make it into speedway's Premiership play offs after defeat on the road to Belle Vue last night.
It all ended 49 - 41 to the home side, who remain at the top of the table. Ipswich are in 5th on 15 points.
The scores were level nine races in, however the defending champions finished strong with three maximums across the remaining six races.
Emil Sayfutdinov top scored for Witches with 13+1.
Speaking after the fixture, Witches promoter Chris Louis said: “I felt for the lads a bit because they hung in until heat 12 and then it got away from us a little bit."
"We looked like we were bringing it back in heat 13 with Jason and Emil but the decision went against Jason.
"To be fair it was the decision I expected from the ref, that isn’t me saying it was the right decision, I thought Dan went down a bit softly and I feel Jason’s frustration.
"We have seen it so many times the other way round and he keeps getting excluded when he is taken off. I fully understand and appreciate why he was so frustrated after that.
“Emil wasn’t taken off in heat 14, it was a very hard move but that is speedway, when you need the result that is what you have got to do, so I didn’t have a problem with it.
"It was tough for Emil but overall, it was a better performance. I thought the lads tried very hard and it is a shame they didn’t get more for their efforts.
“Dan was excellent, I was toying with whether it should be Erik or Dan in heat 14 and we had to make a change in that race obviously, but it wasn’t an easy decision who should be replaced.
“With the position we are in, it wasn’t enough, that is the bottom line. We won’t throw the towel in whilst it is mathematically possible. In theory we have a few easier meetings, and we will see what we can do and all we can do is try to win.”
FINAL SCORES:
BELLE VUE 49: Dan Bewley 9+1, Norick Blödorn 8+1, Jaimon Lidsey 5, Charles Wright 8, Brady Kurtz © 8+1, Tom Brennan 10+4, Connor Bailey (RS) 1. Team Manager: Mark Lemon
IPSWICH 41: Emil Sayfutdinov 13+1, Keynan Rew 5, Danny King © 10, Erik Riss 1+1, Jason Doyle 5, Danyon Hume 3, Dan Thompson (RS) 4+2. Team Manager: Chris Louis