IPSWICH Evening Star Witches could lose £10,000 from staging an Elite League double header at Foxhall Stadium on Thursday.The Suffolk club, who are still chasing the Elite League championship after confirming a play-off place, visit Peterborough tonight (start 7.
Elvin King
IPSWICH Evening Star Witches could lose £10,000 from staging an Elite League double header at Foxhall Stadium on Thursday.
The Suffolk club, who are still chasing the Elite League championship after confirming a play-off place, visit Peterborough tonight (start 7.30pm) in their last scheduled away league meeting.
Whatever happens tonight their finishing place in the top four will not be decided until they entertain Poole and then Coventry on the final day of the play-off cut-off date on Thursday.
Despite putting prices up to £22 and £18 for the 30 heats of racing, Ipswich will still make a big financial loss with an estimate of between £10,000 and £15,000 being about right.
“It will certainly not be a money-making evening for us,” said Witches rider/manager Chris Louis.
“But we are an ambitious club and we have to look at the wider picture.
“We want to win the title this year if we possibly can, and we need to get these home meetings in.
“Our restricted use of Foxhall Stadium and other outside issues including the weather have put us in this position.
“At the end of the day we have to do what we have to do to get the meetings run.
“And without doubt these are the two teams that always give us a great night at Foxhall. They both have great records in Suffolk and there should be bags of tension along the way.
“And both Poole and Coventry will badly want to get a result as well.”
Louis confirmed that Ipswich would rather face Lakeside away than Poole away in the play-off semi-final.
He went on: “This would reward our fans and give them a meeting they could journey do. And it would also give our lads some welcome support.
“We have not worked as hard as we have all season to let it all fall away without a fight at the final hurdle.”
Tobi Kroner is missing again because of his broken finger - with new number eight Carl Wilkinson named as number eight tonight.
Tonight's likely line-ups
Peterborough: R Sullivan, L Dryml, K Bjerre, H Bager, D King, K Zabic, C Vissing.
Ipswich: P Swiderski, Rider replacement, J Hampel, R Miskowiak, R Schlein, S Johnston, C Schramm. No 8: C Wilkinson.
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