Night of celebration falls flat for Sheffield Tigers

Sheffield Tigers slumped to a 53-37 defeat in their vital Championship clash with rivals Scunthorpe in front of a bumper crowd at Owlerton.
By The Newsroom
Published 2nd Aug 2018, 22:12 BST
Updated 2nd Aug 2018, 22:13 BST
Steve Worrall leads Todd Kurtz , Charles Wright and Danny Phillips in heat one. Picture: Andy GarnerSteve Worrall leads Todd Kurtz , Charles Wright and Danny Phillips in heat one. Picture: Andy Garner
Steve Worrall leads Todd Kurtz , Charles Wright and Danny Phillips in heat one. Picture: Andy Garner

On a night of celebration with the club hosting their 2000th meeting, there was general disappointment about the performance.

A glittering list of former riders were in attendance - and the team performance brought back the bad times of the mid-90s!

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Scunthorpe were the stronger all-round side and deserved their win, and Tigers knew they were up against it at 20-10 down after five heats.

They had already used Kyle Howarth as a tactical substitute when they gained a maximum in the next - but Scunthorpe bounced back in heat seven to maintain a 26-16 lead.

Jake Allen and Jason Garrity were on fine form as a partnership and struck another 5-1 in heat 10 to put the visitors 12-up and the precious away win was in sight thanks to some steely determination.

And the Scorpions got the win with four heats to spare after a fine ride from Danny Phillips to go 44-28 up.

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There was some competitive racing which was entertaining for the neutral - but it was hard to take for the home fans.

Some fans started leaving after heat 12 and it was a big anti-climax after all the pre-match publicity.

Angry club co-promoter Damien Bates said: “This is a massive disappointment.

“It’s just not good enough and we need to address this. We are all bitterly disappointed because we had so many of the former Sheffield riders here.

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“The fans deserve better and it’s all a far cry from this time last year when we were building up to the play-offs. Things aren’t working out and we need to sort it quickly. Our manager, Simon Stead, is frustrated and so am I.”

The response from ex-riders was superb. It’s just a shame today’s riders were unable to ride to the occasion.

SHEFFIELD 37: Todd Kurtz 10, Kyle Howarth 9, Lasse Bjerre 6, James Shanes 6, Charles Wright 3+2, Joe Lawlor 2, Broc Nicol 1+1.

SCUNTHORPE 53: Jake Allen 15+2, Jason Garrity 12+2, Steve Worrall 9, Josh Auty 8+1, Danny Phillips 5, Gino Manzares 4+1, Stefan Nielsen r/r.

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Related topics:Sheffield TigersScunthorpeDamien BatesSimon Stead