Sheffield suffer defeat on the road at Belle Vue

Sheffield’s wait to confirm their Rowe Motor Oil Premiership play-off place goes on following their 53-37 defeat at regular table toppers Belle Vue on Monday.

The Tigers were well and truly in the contest at the halfway stage as they trailed by just two points, but the hosts rallied in the second half of the contest with six heat advantages from seven races as the Manchester men completed their 100 per cent home regular league record.

Sheffield opened with a 4-2, led by guest number one Ben Cook, but the Aces responded with two of their own to move 10-8 ahead.

Skipper Josh Pickering produced a brilliant ride to go from third to first to win a shared Heat Four before Cook took the chequered flag in the fifth in another share of the spoils.

Further successive 4-2s saw Belle Vue establish a six point lead, but a 5-1 from Luke Killeen and Anders Rowe reduced that to two once again with eight gone.

But as Belle Vue got dialled in around their circuit, the Tigers struggled to contain the runaway league leaders with tactical substitute Cook and Chris Holder combing for the visitors only other heat advantage in Heat 12 as the Aces added three more points to their tally.

Sheffield team boss Simon Stead said: “The way it got away from us in the second half of the meeting was disappointing but trying to focus on some positives, it does show that we can keep it close and push them here if we look at that first half with an eye on the play-offs.

“Ben stepped in and did a good job, but we were lacking in a couple of places.

“It’s not a complete disaster, there were some positives along the way, but when it comes down to the crunch, if we face these guys in the play-offs at some stage, then we know we’re going to need to up our game.”

Sheffield need a single league point from their final regular fixture of the season when they host Northampton at Owlerton on Wednesday (September 16, 7.30pm) to mathematically secure their play-off place.

Belle Vue 53: Jason Doyle 11+1, Brady Kurtz 11, Zach Cook 11, Tate Zischke 8+1, Peter Kildemand 5+1, William Cairns 4, Norick Blodorn 3+1.

Sheffield 37: Josh Pickering 11, Ben Cook 10, Chris Holder 5, Anders Rowe 3+1, Luke Killeen 3, Leon Flint 3, Jye Etheridge 2.

Belle Vue win the aggregate point 96-84.