IT was predictable enough, but at least Ipswich Witches put up a fighting show at runaway league leaders Poole Pirates on Wednesday night.

IT was predictable enough, but at least Ipswich Witches put up a fighting show at runaway league leaders Poole Pirates on Wednesday night.

No-one seriously expected the Witches to get close, but with Robert Miskowiak and Scott Nicholls in good form, they got closer than any other team had done to the Pirates at Wimborne Road this season.

In the end Poole eased to a 12-point victory and for Ipswich the old failings continued to stare them in the face, as their weak reserves were again shown up the by their opposition counterparts. Ales Dryml too hardly sparked on his Witches debut, but he will get more time to show what he can do.

But Nicholls and Miskowiak gave the small band of Witches fans something to cheer about, with a final heat 5-1 a rousing way to end the night.

However the Witches got off to a bad start as, although Nicholls won heat one, Olly Allen was ridden into by Darcy Ward and withdrew from the meeting.

It was the second time in two weeks Allen had crashed out of the meeting in race one, and the third time this season.

Nicholls won heat one and was brilliant in his efforts to pass both Arthur Mroczka and Bjarne Pedersen in a thrilling heat five.

Inbetween, both Danny King and Robert Miskowiak tasted the chequered flag, before Miskowiak, gating superbly, won again in heat six..

Poole took a decisive lead in heat seven, but then suffered injury themselves, when Mrozcka crashed on his own in heat nine.

The Pirates stretched their lead in heat 10 and then Davey Watt took advantage of a Nicholls slip, when the Ipswich No.1 was on a tactical ride in heat 11, to wrap up the points for the Pirates.

Nicholls was in brilliant form and he, Watt and Chris Holder had a superb battle in heat 13, with Nicholls splitting the home pairing.

The Ipswich top man was at it again in the final heat, joined at the front by Miskowiak. It was just a shame these two had such little support.

Poole: C Holder 8+1, D Ward 7+1, B Pedersen 9+1, A Mroczka 3+1, D Watt 9+2, L Madsen 10, J Doyle 6+1

Ipswich: S Nicholls 15, O Allen 1, D King 6, A Dryml 3, R Miskowiak 10+1, D Stachyra 5+2, C Wilkinson 0.