Ipswich Witches 56 Berwick Bandits 36

Ipswich Witches overcame a power blackout, as well as the Berwick Bandits, to grab three more Championship points after another solid Foxhall performance tonight.

It was at the start of heat six, with the four riders on the start line, Foxhall Stadium was thrown into darkness!

Luckily the tapes hadn’t gone up or it could have been disastrous. After a 20-minute delay light was restored and the home side completed a victory they had set up in the early stages.

East Anglian Daily Times: Kyle Newman ahead of Dany Gappmaier and Kevin Doolan in heat three.Kyle Newman ahead of Dany Gappmaier and Kevin Doolan in heat three. (Image: � Copyright Stephen Waller)

It was always likely to be a home win with the Bandits propping up the table. But Berwick gave a good account of themselves and made the Witches fight for every point.

Ipswich face three tough away meetings this week, starting at Edinburgh tomorrow, and this was a good way for them to prepare.

Berwick’s David Howe made a good start from the inside in heat one, but Danny King rounded him down the back straight, as Nathan Greaves battled well to hold off Bandit’s No.1 Nick Morris.

East Anglian Daily Times: Connor Mountain and Alfie Bowtell bump elbows as they leave the tapes in heat fourConnor Mountain and Alfie Bowtell bump elbows as they leave the tapes in heat four (Image: � Copyright Stephen Waller)

Jye Etheridge was warned for jumping the start of heat two, but he wasn’t put off and won the re-run in style as Connor Mountain passed Alfie Bowtell in a drawn heat. Lewis Kerr was guesting for the injured Cameron Heeps and he flew from the outside in heat three, with Kyle Newman riding a strong second bend to join him.

Ipswich had hit the Bandits early and Rory Schlein made no mistake in heat four. Berwick got their first heat advantage as Morris gated and Kevin Doolan passed Newman for third.

The whole stadium was thrown into darkness with the riders at the start of heat six! But on return to action, Howe surprised King with a flying start as Mountain passed Etheridge in a shared heat six. Schlein won the next and Morris looked impressive, winning his second race after his first race blob.

Berwick were keeping it close but the Witches took a grip on proceedings with two 5-1s in heats nine and 10 and when Morris came out for a tactical ride in heat 11, Schlein nullified that.

The home side were as good as home and dry and Kerr sealed the points with a win in heat 12.

The Witches finished strong with Greaves picking himself up off the deck to partner Newman home in heat 14 before Morris was excluded at the tapes in the final race, leaving man-of-the-meeting Schlein and Newman to end the night on a high for the Foxhall side.

East Anglian Daily Times: Foxhall stadium on emergency lighting after a generator failure. Photos: STEVE WALLERFoxhall stadium on emergency lighting after a generator failure. Photos: STEVE WALLER (Image: � Copyright Stephen Waller)

Meanwhile, the Witches travel to Edinburgh on Friday night in the second part of a double header meeting. The Witches are using Thomas Jorgensen as a guest replacement for Cameron Heeps.

And Mildenhall Fen Tigers lost 37-53 at Isle of Wight. Guest Ben Morley top-scored with 12.

Scorers

Ipswich: D King 8, R/R, L Kerr 13, K Newman 11+4, R Schlein 14, N Greaves 6+1, C Mountain 4+3.

Berwick: N Morris 13, R/R, D Gappmaier 3+1, K Doolan 7, D Howe 7, J Etheridge 4+1, A Bowtell 2.

Heat details

1 King, Howe, Greaves, Morris 57.1 4-2

2 Etheridge, Greaves, Mountain, Bowtell 59.0 7-5

3 Kerr, Newman, Doolan, Gappmaier 57.3 12-6

4 Schlein, Bowtell, Mountain, Howe 57.2 16-8

5 Morris, Kerr, Doolan, Newman 57.2 18-12

6 Howe, King, Mountain, Etheridge 57.7 21-15

7 Schlein, Doolan, Gappmaier, Greaves 57.5 24-18

8 Morris, Kerr, Mountain, Bowtell 56.9 27-21

9 Kerr, Newman, Doolan, Gappmaier 57.7 32-22

10 King, Newman, Doolan, Gappmaier 57.1 37-23

11 Schlein, Morris*, Greaves, Etheridge 57.3 41-27

12 Kerr, Gappmaier, Etheridge, Mountain 58.2 44-30

13 Morris, Schlein, Howe, King 57.4 46-34

14 Newman, Greaves, Doolan, Bowtell (f/x) 51-35

15 Schlein, Newman, Doolan, Morris (15m) 58.1 56-36

*tac ride points count double

Ipswich 3 pts. Berwick 0 pts.

Championship table

P Pts

Sheffield 30 76

Ipswich 33 72

Glasgow 29 60

Redcar 32 56

Edinburgh 28 54

Newcastle 31 45

Peterborough 30 41

Workington 25 37

Scunthorpe 32 31

Berwick 34 24