Ipswich Witches travel to Sheffield Tigers tonight
Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins, talks to Kevin Long - Credit: Picture: Steve Waller
Ipswich Witches can still top their League Cup group.
Ipswich Witches can still top their League Cup group.
But if they are going to, they will have to pull out all the stops over the next three nights, with home and away clashes with Sheffield Tigers.
The Tigers currently sit top of the Witches group after a dominant start to the season.
Sheffield are yet to taste defeat in 2016 and were tipped by many for a successful season. Their start to the campaign has filled their fans with even more optimism.
The Witches, meanwhile, got themselves up and running on Thursday with a fine victory over Peterborough Panthers at Foxhall Stadium. It was a marked improvement from the Suffolk side, but team boss Ritchie Hawkins, pictured above, knows that improvement – and more – will be required tonight, if the Witches are to take anything away from the fast Owlerton bowl.
“Hopefully the boys can build on the Peterborough clash, it was a lot better performance,” said Hawkins.
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“I still think there is improvement in all seven of them but it was a big improvement to what we have been showing and we are going to have to improve again on Thursday at Sheffield.”
It is going to be a tough ask for the Witches to win tonight. However, they do have former Tigers up their sleeve and Hawkins is hoping they prove to be trump cards.
“Nico (Covatti) and Paco Castagna are both former Sheffield riders and I know Danny (King) loves the place, so we could do well there,” he said.
“We know what we need to do, a draw would be ok but if Sheffield win, they are through.”
The return leg of this clash is at Foxhall Heath on Saturday night – and Witches fans will be hoping after this evening’s action, there is still plenty riding on it.
