Speedway: Danny King the Sheffield hero again in another last-gasp victory

Danny King was the Sheffield hero again with yet another win in a thrilling last gasp Tigers victory.
Danny King, picture by Taylor LanningDanny King, picture by Taylor Lanning
Danny King, picture by Taylor Lanning

King’s Heat 15 glory over Leicester stars Ryan Douglas and Scott Nicholls ensured Tigers edged out the league leaders by two points in a tense contest which went right down to the wire.

The result maintained Tigers’ 100 per cent home record in the league and saw them cut the gap at the top of the table to three points.

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Sheffield found themselves facing an early deficit when Ty Proctor crashed out of Heat 3 when chasing the Lions pairing – but the Australian recovered superbly from that setback to win his remaining three rides.

And the home side hit straight back with a stunning performance from debutant Josh MacDonald, who partnered skipper Kyle Howarth to maximum points in Heat 4 over Richie Worrall.

That was the first of three successive Sheffield advantages, but a six-point Tigers advantage was quickly slashed by the East Midlanders, with Ellis Perks and ex-Sheffield man Connor Mountain getting the better of Drew Kemp for a 5-1 in Heat 8.

Proctor produced a fine ride on the third bend of Heat 9 to go around Richie Worrall, but the Lions refused to be shaken off.

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King and Howarth were both unbeaten from their first two rides, but they lost out to Douglas and Nicholls in Heats 10 and 11 as the visitors levelled the scores.

A third straight win by Proctor and a brave first bend by MacDonald put Sheffield back ahead with a 4-2 in the next, ahead of a frantic Heat 13 in which Nicholls and Worrall just squeezed out Howarth behind the flying King.

It all looked to be going wrong in Heat 14 for Sheffield as Zaine Kennedy and Broc Nicol found themselves facing a 5-1 reverse – but as Connor Mountain struggled with a broken seat bracket, he was reeled in by the Tigers duo who both crucially got through for a 3-3.

And King yet again proved the man for the big race in Heat 15 with the strongest of first laps to edge out the Leicester paring and seal another narrow home win.

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SHEFFIELD 46: Danny King 14, Ty Proctor 9, Kyle Howarth 7+1, Zaine Kennedy 5, Josh MacDonald 5, Broc Nicol 4+1, Drew Kemp 2.

LEICESTER 44: Ryan Douglas 13, Scott Nicholls 8+1, Ellis Perks 7+1, Cameron Heeps 6+2, Richie Worrall 6+1, Connor Mountain 4+1, Jack Thomas 0.