Speedway: Sheffield roar with first league points after second half surge against Ipswich at Owlerton
Tigers turn on the style after slow start to beat rivals
Sheffield Tigers roared to their first Rowe Motor Oil Premiership win of the season with a powerful performance in a meeting with Ipswich which at one stage looked deadlocked.
The two teams could not be separated for the first eight heats, with all eight seeing the points shared in 3-3 draws.
But Tigers responded by winning five of the last seven races, four of those by 5-1 margins, to end up 52-38 victors over last season’s champions.
Chris Holder ended the night with a paid maximum of 11+1, but was unable to complete heat 15, after Danny King collided with him on the second bend, with Josh Pickering put in as injury rider replacement in the rerun.
The evening also saw Sheffield speedway reserve Jye Etheridge withdraw from the meeting after crashing in his second ride, ending the evening with an ice pack on his wrist.
But heat leaders Jack Holder and Josh Pickering finished on double figures, Leon Flint and Anders Rowe put in some of their best performances of the season at Owlerton so far, and Rising Star Luke Killeen posted his biggest score of the season and looked sharp.
Ipswich started well in a fast heat one, with Danny King winning ahead of Anders Rowe. Jack Holder passed Tom Brennan on the inside on lap three to get third place.
Heat two also ended 3-3 with Ipswich's Jason Edwards winning ahead of Jye Etheridge and third placed Luke Killeen.
Tigers’ Chris Holder finished more than two seconds clear on Ipswich's Scott Nicholls in heat three, with Richard Lawson third, Leon Flint unable to find a way past, in another shared heat in heat three.
Heat four also ended all square, Sheffield skipper Josh Pickering finding the front after an outside pass near the end of lap one, and finishing well clear of Ipswich's former Tiger Tobiasz Musielak, second, and Jason Edwards.
Chris Holder won heat five, leading from the gate, Tom Brennan second and Danny King third.
Heat six saw Ipswich first away from the tapes, with Musielak going on to win the race. But both Jack Holder (second) and Anders Rowe passed Daniel Klima to finish with another 3-3.
Heat seven needed a rerun after a fall from Etheridge on lap one, with Nicholls ahead at the time.
With Etheridge excluded, Pickering was quickly out of the gates on his way to three points, crossing the line more than three seconds ahead of Nicholls, Lawson third in the seventh straight 3-3.
Heat eight saw Sheffield battle back from trailing 5-1 to take a 3-3. With King clear in front Killeen squeezed past Edwards in an impressive move on the inside , with Rowe following suit.
Tigers finally took the lead with a heat nine 5-1, Flint flying from the tapes to take his first home win of the season, with Chris Holder close behind in second, and Musielak third.
Sheffield extended their lead with another 5-1 in heat 10, as Rowe took off from the tapes. Jack Holder passed Lawson early on lap two, finishing just behind Rowe.
With Etheridge withdrawing after his earlier fall, Killeen took his place for heat 11. And the race saw Ipswich battle back with a 5-1 of their own, despite Killeen battling hard and passing second placed King at one stage, before King fought back to reclaim his place. Brennan won the heat.
Tigers moved ahead again in heat 12, with Chris Holder leading from start to end. Lawson was second, but Killeen continued an impressive night chasing and passing Edwards, a reserve switch from Ipswich, to take third in a Sheffield 4-2.
Jack Holder led heat 13 from the tapes, but the highlight of the heat was a double swoop from Pickering, between the third and fourth bends on lap two, to go past Brennan and Musielak from fourth into second. It was another Tigers 5-1.
King came in as a tactical substitute for Ipswich in heat 14, with Killeen again standing in for Etheridge.
But Sheffield's Flint was first away from the tapes again, leading from start to finish. Killeen took a tumble early on the third bend, but was quickly back up, and out of the way and into the centre green to allow Flint to stay ahead. With King finishing second, and Nicholls third, the resulting 3-3 secured Tigers' first league win of the season.
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Heat 15 required a rerun after King and Chris Holder collided on the second bend. It was all four riders back. However, Chris was replaced by skipper Pickering for Tigers after the collision.
And it was Pickering who led from the gate. Jack Holder battled back from last into second as Tigers won another 5-1.
Sheffield 52: Chris Holder 11+1, Josh Pickering 11+1, Jack Holder 10+3, Anders Rowe 7+2, Leon Flint 6, Luke Killeen 5+1, Jye Etheridge 2
Ipswich 38: Danny King 11+2, Tobiasz Musielak 8, Richard Lawson 5+2, Scott Nicholls 5, Tom Brennan 5, Jason Edwards 4+1, Daniel Klima 0