Speedway: Sheffield end Leicester hoodoo with Owlerton victory
Sheffield ended their Leicester hoodoo with their first win over the Lions in six attempts, moving them up the table
A 50-40 margin on the night in the Rowe Motor Oil Premiership clash was enough to also give Sheffield the aggregate bonus point, and move them up from fourth in the table to second, six points behind leaders Ipswich, who beat King’s Lynn 51 - 39.
Jack Holder scored a paid maximum, while new signing Nick Morris scored seven, paid nine, his highest so far since this return to action, which included a dramatic last gasp overtake in a dramatic end to heat 14.
Morris told The Star he was glad to be back in action, and he was getting used to everything again with more bike time.
He said: “That felt fine. I’ve had that score pretty much for three of the last four meetings.
“I’m getting better every meeting - it’s just bike time, and keep improving.”
He said there was a good atmosphere after what was Tigers first win over the Lions this year.
He added: “All the boys are awesome in this team. It’s so good to have back up in every race. Everyone's fighting and they’e all such good riders, so every race, you have hope, so it’s a pleasure to be in this team.”
Sheffield raced into a 5-1 lead from the start of heat one, Anders Rowe ahead of Jack Holder and third placed Max Fricke.
Heat two saw the Leicester duo of Drew Kemp and Joe Thompson first out of the gate, but Tigers Leon Flint had found his way past them by the middle of the first lap. Jye Etheridge had passed Thompson by the end of the lap as Tigers took a 4-2.
Nick Morris won heat three from the gate, ahead of Ryan Douglas, with Josh Pickering third, in another Sheffield heat advantage.
Sam Masters provided the visitors' first heat winner in heat four, sweeping wide into the lead on the second bend, and staying just ahead of Chris Holder. Leon Flint, third, was some way back in the night's first shared heat of the evening.
Max Fricke won heat five for Leicester, taking the lead ahead of Pickering in second, with Morris third.
Jack Holder performed a last lap overtake of Masters to win heat six, having earlier scraped the air fence. It was a 4-2 for the Tigers, Rowe in third.
Douglas won heat seven, ahead of Sheffield pair Chris Holder and Etheridge, Holder passing Etheridge after team riding to keep former Tiger Kyle Howarth at the back.
Leon Flint led from the start to win heat eight, ahead of Becker, with Rowe passing Joe Thompson at the end of lap two, with a 4-2 to Sheffield.
Max Fricke came in as a tactical substitute for Leicester in place of Drew Kemp in heat nine.
The switch worked in so much as Fricke won the the heat. Lions led 5-1 out of the tapes, but both Pickering, second, and Morris, third were past Masters by the end of lap one.
Jack Holder led heat 10 from the second bend, ahead of Douglas. Rowe passed Howarth at the start of lap two to take third in a Tigers 4-2.
Leicester took their first heat advantage of the night with a heat 11 5-1, Fricke and Becker ahead of Chris Holder and last placed Etheridge.
Pickering recorded his first heat win of the night in heat 12, ahead of Douglas, with Flint third, Tigers extending their lead to 12.
Jack Holder won heat 13 in a tough battle against second placed Fricke, with Masters (third) and Chris Holder further back.
Sheffield switched Flint for Etheridge in heat 14, while Leicester swapped Kemp for Thompson.
In the race, Howarth won his first points of the night for Leicester with a win. But Morris overtook Kemp on the line to avoid a 5-1, keeping Tigers 10 points clear.
But Jack Holder secured the bonus point for Tigers with a last heat win, again narrowly ahead of Fricke, with Masters third.
Sheffield 50: Jack Holder 14+1, Leon Flint 8+1, Josh Pickering 8, Nick Morris 7+2, Anders Rowe 6, Chris Holder 5, Jye Etheridge 2+1.
Leicester 40: Max Fricke 14, Ryan Douglas 10+1, Sam Masters 6+1, Luke Becker 4+1, Kyle Howarth 3, Drew Kemp 3, Joe Thompson 0.
Sheffield win the aggregate point