Ipswich saw off the challenge of Sheffield Tigers at Foxhall tonight, but it took a heat 15 maximum from their top two to ensure the Witches picked up the league points.
Still without virus victim Erik Riss and with the track a little tricky due to afternoon rain, it took a huge effort from the remaining Witches riders to bring the points home, in a meeting that swung one way and then the other.
The Tigers brought in Scott Nicholls as a guest and at one point it looked like the former Witch may spoil the Suffolk side's party.
He dropped just one point in his first four rides and had inflicted defeats on both Jason Doyle and Emil Sayfutdinov, in a vital heat thirteen, that kept the visitors in a narrow two point advantage over their hosts.
With a tough penultimate heat to get through, reserve Danyon Hume stepped up and held his nerve to lead the way home from Tigers' free-scoring reserve Lewis Kerr and with Keynan Rew picking up the third placed point, the home side had levelled the scores with just one to go.
Nicholls raced from the start to lead the way in that final race and it took a huge effort from Doyle to overhaul him going into the first turn mid race.
Nicholls tried to cut back, but in an effort to do so he slid off on the outside, with Sayfutdinov charging through to follow his partner home for a match winning 5-1.
After a shared opening heat Hume touched the tapes in heat two and could make no impression from a fifteen meter handicap, in a race won by Kerr although Hume’s team-mate Joe Thompson did well to finish second.
Skipper Danny King and Rew recorded a 4-2 in the third to level the scores, before Nicholls defeated Sayfutdinov in the next.
King and Rew led the fifth for a couple of laps until Jack Holder found his way into second place as the Witches got their noses in front, before Doyle won the sixth with ease.
Hume then got a flier in the seventh and Sayfutdinov fought his way past Adam Ellis to join him for a 5-1 maximum, to take the Witches six up.
The Tigers immediately hit back with there own maximum as the home advantage was reduced to just two again. And another visitors' maximum in the ninth swung that advantage in favour of the Tigers.
Heat ten then saw things swing back to the Witches with a King and Doyle 5-1.
Now two points to the good Sayfutdinov won the 11th to keep it that way and then a maximum from Ellis and Kerr in the 12th took the Tigers back in front before the nail biting last three heats which finally saw the home side victorious.
IPSWICH: Jason Doyle 13+1, Danny King 9+1, Keynan Rew 4, Emil Sayfutdinov 11+2, Danyon Hume 8+1, Joe Thompson 2
SHEFFIELD: Jack Holder 4+2, Kyle Howarth 6+1, Adam Ellis 7, David Bellego 1, Scott Nicholls 11, Lewis Kerr 10+3, Dan Gilkes 4
Heat details
Ht 1: Doyle, Howarth, Holder, Hume…58.0…3-3
Ht 2: Kerr, Thompson, Gilkes, Hume…64.2…7-5
Ht 3: king, Ellis, Rew, Bellego 60.0 9-9
Ht 4: Nicholls, Sayfutdinov, Hume, Gilkes 60.1 12-12
Ht 5: King, Holder, Rew, Howarth 59.4 16-14
Ht 6: Doyle, Nicholls, Kerr, Thompson 58.2 19-17
Ht 7: Hume, Sayfutdinov, Ellis, Bellego 60.4 24-18
Ht 8: Gilkes, Kerr, Rew, Thompson 60.2 25-23
Ht 9: Nicholls, Kerr, King, Rew 58.8 26-28
Ht 10: Doyle, King, Bellego, Ellis 59.7 31-29
Ht 11: Sayfutdinov, Howarth, Holder, Hume 58.9 34-32
Ht 12: awarded Ellis, Kerr, Hume, King FX no time 35-37
Ht 13: Nicholls, Sayfutdinov, Doyle, Holder 59.5 38-40
Ht 14: Hume, Kerr, Rew, Gilkes 60.1 42-42
Ht 15: Doyle, Sayfutdinov, Ellis, Nicholls f 59.0 47-43
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