Speedway: Late drama as Sheffield secure point on the road at Northampton
Late overtake drama secures points
Sheffield grabbed a dramatic 45-45 draw at Northampton on Monday to add another league point to their tally.
Skipper Josh Pickering was the Heat 15 hero for the Tigers as he produced a sensational ride to go from last to third and deny the hosts what would’ve been just a second home victory of the season.
On what had been his first rides on the Foxes’ track, he said: “It was nice to finally see Northampton and what a cool track it is. We were obviously going for an away win but speedway was the real winner tonight, both teams were equally as dominant and in fairness neither team deserved to lose. “
Upon arrival at the Northampton International Shaleway, tonnes of new shale had been distributed onto the racing surface causing some concern amongst riders.
A few of their requests were carried out and racing got underway with a 4-2 to the Tigers as guest Ryan Douglas swooped across his rivals from the outside whilst Anders Rowe was gifted third place following a spill for home No.1 Jaimon Lidsey.
Luke Killeen made a flyer from gate three to earn his first away league race victory of the season for Sheffield in a shared heat two.
But with further concerns raised about the loose material on the circuit, racing was held for 20 minutes whilst essential remedial work was carried out.
And it was certainly worth the wait as the rest of the night saw some spectacular speedway served up - regardless of some misfortunes for both sides.
A mistake on bend two by Leon Flint contributed to the hosts getting their first advantage in Heat Three as they drew back level before Pickering led a shared Heat Four.
The Foxes took the lead for the first time in Heat Five with Douglas first experiencing mechanical issues of his own before borrowed machinery then failed him as home pairing Niels-Kristian Iversen and Matej Zagar combined for their second 4-2 of the contest.
Pickering was passed smartly by fellow Aussie Kye Thomson in Heat Six, but with Jye Etheridge getting the better of Lidsey, another 3-3 was recorded.
That was quickly followed by another after some initial drama when movement by Troy Batchelor from the outside drew Leon Flint into touching the tapes; the re-run saw Chris Holder take the chequered flag.
The hosts doubled their lead with another 4-2 in Heat Eight; Thomson made it back-to-back wins whilst youngster Luke Harrison kept it wound on around the outside to pass fellow Rising Star Killeen on the line for third.
Pickering came out on top after a gripping early battle with the previously unbeaten Iversen in Heat Nine before Holder made it consecutive race wins after riding an experienced opening lap.
Home captain Nicolai Klindt made the gate in Heat 11, but as he looked over his shoulder for his team-mate out of bend two, he was passed by both Sheffield representatives as Douglas and Rowe struck a 5-1 to level up the scores.
Reserve switch Batchelor led a 4-2 for the Foxes in Heat 12 before the Tigers hit back instantly in Heat 13. Pickering produced a sublime last lap pass on Lidsey to win it whilst Douglas held a solid third place ahead of Klindt.
There was frustration for Killeen who came down in the initial staging of Heat 14 - and that extra man advantage further boosted the hosts’ hopes as their pairing of Iversen and Batchelor fancied their chances against a pointless Leon Flint.
But the Brit showed true grit and determination to work his way from third to first and claim a pivotal race win to set up yet another last heat decider at the Shaleway.
It looked like the Tigers were going to suffer a third straight defeat when the Foxes gated and sat on a 5-1 - but Pickering came up with yet another breathtaking ride to go from third to first to earn a share of the spoils on a thoroughly entertaining evening.
Tigers team boss Simon Stead said: “They gave me everything - we just came up a little bit short didn’t we?
“We probably did enough for the win but sometimes it’s just not your night.
“We were in points scoring positions on a couple of occasions where we slipped up - but those sorts of things, you just have to roll with the punches a little bit.
“It’s a step in the right direction though and I think anybody who was here, or watched on the stream, will see that we didn’t down tools, we got together and we gave it our best shot and we raced to the chequered flag in every single heat.”
The Tigers are back on home shale this Thursday (July 23, 7.30pm) when they host reigning league Champions Ipswich.
Northampton 45: Troy Batchelor 11+1, Niels-Kristian Iversen 11+1, Kye Thomson 9+1, Matej Zagar 4+1, Jaimon Lidsey 4, Luke Harrison 3+2, Nicolai Klindt 3+1.
Sheffield 45: Josh Pickering 14, Chris Holder 10, Anders Rowe 7+1, Ryan Douglas 7, Leon Flint 3, Luke Killeen 3, Jye Etheridge 1+1.