Speedway: Sheffield inflict first defeat on Ipswich in Owlerton thriller

With the Witches two points ahead going into heat 15, Sheffield duo of Josh Pickering and Jack Holder pulled of a 5-1 over Jason Doyle and Enil Sayfutdinov to complete a 46-44 victory at Owlerton, with Pickering leading from the start, and Holder finding a way past Doyle early on to move into second.

It was a dramatic finale to what was the most exciting night’s racing at Owlerton so far this season, with one of the highlights being am exciting turnaround in heat six which saw Sheffield clinch a 5-1 on the line, having earlier looked likely to lose the heat by that margin.

Tigers Anders Rowe won heat one, which had to be restarted after a fall before the first bend by Adam Ellis, who went on to finish second ahead of Jason Doyle in a 3-3 shared heat.

But Sheffield took the lead in heat two, with Lewis Kerr leading from the gate. Leon Flint had to settle for second after being passed by Dan Thompson in a Tigers 4-2.

Heat three saw Emil Sayfutinov fastest from the gate, but Josh Pickering had passed him by the end of lap one. Pickering held on to win a 3-3 shared heat, Danny King in third.

Ipswich brought Dan Thompson into action in heat four in a reserve switch, which worked well for them as he led from the start. Flint took second, despite a late charge by the visitors' Tom Brennan, with the away side's 4-2 levelling the scores at 12-12.

Pickering led heat five from the gate, winning the heat ahead of Doyle. Justin Sedgmen was passed late on as Adam Ellis took third in a 3-3.

Heat six was a spectacular minute for Tigers, and perhaps the most exciting at Owlerton this season so far. Trailing 5-1 halfway through, Jack Holder pulled moves on Brennan and Thomson to move from third into the lead, before Rowe passed both visitors on the last half a lap, to take second place right on the line.

Chris Holder led from the to take heat seven, beating Danny King, second, with Sayfutinov, third. Kerr failed to finish after suffering mechanical problems while at the back.

Adam Ellis led from the start to win heat eight, ahead of Flint, second, and Rowe, third in a shared heat.

Ipswich looked set to level the scores with a 5-1 in heat nine. But just short of the line, on the final bend Thompson hit the airfence, taking a tumble, with Pickering and Sedgmen passing him to finish behind Brennan in a 3-3.

Sayfutinov led from the gate to win heat 10, ahead of Holder and Rowe, in another 3-3.

Ipswich pulled two points back in heat 11, as Doyle finished ahead of Chris Holder, and Adam Ellis passed Kerr on at the end of lap three, with the visitors 4-2 heat advantage bringing the scores to 34-32.

Heat 12 was another drawn heat, Pickering leading from the start ahead of Sayfutinov and Jordan Jenkins, who had been put in for the visitors in a reserve switch.

Doyle won heat 13 in another shared heat, fighting off the close attentions of second placed Jack Holder, with Chris Holder in third.

Sheffield brought in Flint for Sedgmen in heat 14, with Ipswich bringing in Thompson for Jenkins.

The move worked for the visitor, King leading from the start, and Kerr failing to finish for Sheffield, with Thompson taking second place. The 5-1 put Ipswich two points ahead for the first time in the evening.

It left Sheffield needed a win in the last heat to at least force a superheat

But Tigers pulled of an exciting 5-1 in heat 15, Pickering leading from the start, and Holder passing Doyle, to take second, with Sayfutinov failing to finish due to mechanical problems.

Sheffield 46: Josh Pickering 14, Jack Holder 9+1, Anders Rowe 7+3. Chris Holder 6+1, Leon Flint 6, Lewis Kerr 3, Justin Sedgmen 2+1.

Ipswich 44: Jason Doyle 10+1, Emil Sayfutdinov 8+1, Adam Ellis 7+1, Dan Thompson 7+1, Danny King 6+1, Tom Brennan 5, Jordan Jenkins 1+1.

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