Ipswich ‘Sackers’ Witches made it one Premier League defeat from their last 10 meetings with a battling victory over high-flying Workington Comets at Foxhall last night.
But the Suffolk side were left sweating on the fitness of young Aussie star Cameron Heeps who was taken to hospital with a suspected broken wrist after a heat eight crash.
On an evening of falls, exclusions and crashes, the Witches had to show all their character to defeat their Cumbrian rivals.
And they passed the test with flying colours.
This was a tough one for Ipswich, who started sloppily but gained their composure, ironically after the loss of young Heeps.
In the second half of the meeting they really showed their class and the racing was thrilling as the evening went on.
All the Witches top order contributed with Ritchie Hawkins again impressing at reserve. Ben Barker was simply stunning, while Tungate bounced back after his crash to record three straight victories.
It was good stuff from the home side.
Barker and Heeps, not for the first time, got the Witches off to just the start they craved, gating to a 5-1 maximum.
The crowd, swelled by hundreds of children enjoying their summer holidays, went wild.
However things looked to be turning sour in the next as Ritchie Hawkins missed the two-minute warning and started 15m back, while Adam Ellis spluttered from the start when the race commenced.
Hawkins passed Chris Mills as Workington pulled points back.
Tungate and Morten Risager gated to the front in the next but a complete lack of team riding by the Ipswich pair, exposed Tungate and Kyle Howarth passed him.
Tungate repassed before sliding off on the next bend as Howarth collided with him and flew into the fence. It was an ugly crash but both riders got up, although Tungate was excluded.
It was a sloppy start by the Witches although Risager kept his nerve to win the re-run.
Richard Lawson passed the fast-starting Hawkins in heat four as birthday boy Leigh Lanham won easily.
Rusty Harrison won the next as the Comets scored their first heat advantage but Barker and Heeps, who passed Lewis Rose, put Ipswich four points back in front.
But the Witches weren’t impressing and Howarth won heat seven.
Mills spun round and took out Heeps at the start of the next. Mills was excluded, while Heeps was off to hospital with a suspected broken wrist.
However Tungate and Risager produced just the race that the home side needed as they passed Comets’ captain Lawson in style.
It was just what the Witches needed and Barker thrilled the crowd as he passed Howarth in heat 10.
Lanham won the next and then the Foxhall crowd were on their feet as Hawkins and Tungate battled ahead of Howarth to put the home side 10 points ahead.
Barker somehow squeezed past both Comets in unbelievable fashion down the back straight in heat 13, with Lanham again showing his passing skills as he went past Lawson.
Barker and Tungate wrapped up the meeting in exciting fashion, with Barker passing Harrison in style on the very final bend, sending the Foxhall faithful home more than happy once again.
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