THERE have been a plethora of close meetings of late, but points on the board have not exactly been flowing the Witches' way in recent weeks.And if John Louis' side want to finish the season with a degree of respectability, just below mid-table of the Sky Sports Elite League, then two points tonight against lowly Belle Vue are a must.

By Mike Bacon

THERE have been a plethora of close meetings of late, but points on the board have not exactly been flowing the Witches' way in recent weeks.

And if John Louis' side want to finish the season with a degree of respectability, just below mid-table of the Sky Sports Elite League, then two points tonight against lowly Belle Vue are a must.

A home defeat to Peterborough in front of a large Foxhall crowd at the weekend was not what the doctor ordered for many Witches fans, especially with Ipswich's on-loan young England asset Danny King scooping the honours for the Panthers with a match-winning performance.

So it is imperative that result is quickly put to bed, and the Aces' visit couldn't have come at a better time for the home side.

The Manchester outfit, battling with the Witches for the wooden spoon, are very much there for the taking and they suffered a 40-point defeat on their last visit to Foxhall, after losing Simon Stead in an awful-looking high-speed crash.

While the Witches season has been tepid at best, the Aces 2007 has been nothing short of disastrous, and they suffered a huge home defeat to Coventry on Monday night.

Aces team manager and former star Chris Morton has already unsurprisingly admitted that he is building a side for next season. And while the Witches have remained loyal - some fans would suggest over-loyal - to certain riders in their side, the Aces have chopped and changed in an attempt to find a winning formula.

American reserve Ryan Fisher and Finnish international Kaj Laukkanen have made way for new faces as the Aces rebuild a side that has changed dramatically from the one which contained World Champion Jason Crump last year.

Antonio Lindback has recently been signed for the No.1 position, although he is doubtful with injury and doesn't actually have much of a Foxhall record to fear. The Aces probably will be better off with stand-by guest Davey Watt, should the Swede not make it.

A good performance from the Witches tonight then is imperative, with next week's crucial Knock-Out Cup tie with Reading just around the corner - the one meeting left to keep the Witches' 2007 season alive.

Tonight's teams

Ipswich Witches: 1 Jesper B Jensen, 2 Kim Jansson, 3 Chris Louis, 4 Zibi Suchecki, 5 Robert Miskowiak, 6 Marcin Rempala, 7 Tobi Kroner.

Belle Vue Aces: 1 Antonio Lindback or Davey Watt, 2 James Wright, 3 Joe Screen, 4 Kevin Doolan, 5 Simon Stead, 6 Billy Forsbeck, 7 Adam Skornicki.