Ipswich Witches 57 Peterborough Panthers 36

Ipswich Witches made it three Premier League home victories on the bounce with another powerful display, this time against Peterborough Panthers at Foxhall Stadium.

In front of a good-sized crowd, the Witches were slow burners, starting solidly enough, then bursting into life as the meeting wore on.

It was a win that puts them on the periphery of the play-off spots – if only they had started the season like this!

Led by British champion Danny King, who made it 14 straight wins on the trot at Foxhall with another maximum, the impressive James Sarjeant and all-action reserve guest Danny Ayres, Ipswich were irresistible.

This type of performance is just what will bring the crowds back to Foxhall because with the raft of changes made to the Suffolk septet they really are a strong force right now, especially at home.

As well as King and Sarjeant, the top five all scored well, with Morten Risager, Ben Barker and Nico Covatti entertaining the fans with some great passing and team-racing.

Whether the Witches have left it too late to make the play-offs come September remains to be seen. On this form, few would want to meet them if they do sneak in.

For Peterborough, they badly missed Craig Cook at Foxhall, with Lasse Bjerre having a fall in heat one and no heat wins. Nicolas Busk Jacobsen was impressive, while Ashley Morris and Ayres enjoyed a great night of scrapping between the pair.

Unlike Ipswich though, Peterborough have made a decent start to the season and will be confident of a play-off place. They will be pleased when the injured Simon Lambert returns to their septet.

Heat details

1 King, Sarjeant, Grondal, Bjerre (f) 56.4 5-1

2 Morris, Ayres, Holub, Mountain 59.2 7-5

3 Busk Jacobsen, Risager, Covatti, Perry 57.6 10-8

4 Barker, Ostergaard, Holub, Mountain 59.0 13-11

5 Risager, Covatti, Bjerre, Grondal 58.0 18-12

6 King, Sarjeant, Ostergaard, Morris 56.8 23-13

7 Busk Jacobsen*, Barker, Ayres, Perry 58.9 26-19

8 Ayres, Sarjeant, Grondal, Holub (f/x) 59.3 31-20

9 Risager, Covatti, Morris, Ostergaard (f/x) 58.0 36-21

10 King, Sarjeant, Busk Jacobsen, Perry 57.4 41-22

11 Barker, Bjerre, Ayres, Morris 58.6 45-24

12 Busk Jacobsen, Covatti, Morris, Mountain 59.0 47-28

13 King, Bjerre, Ostergaard, Bjerre 57.8 50-31

14 Ayres, Morris, Risager, Holub 60.3 54-33

15 King, Jacobsen, Bjerre, Barker 58.1 57-36

*tac ride points count double

Ipswich 3 pts. Panthers 0 pts.

Scorers

Ipswich: D King 15, J Sarjeant 8+4, N Covatti 7+3, M Risager 9, B Barker 8, D Ayres 10+1, C Mountain 0.

Peterborough: L Bjerre 6+1, E Grondal 2, NB Jacobsen 15, T Perry 0, U Ostergaard 4+1, A Morris 7, Z Holub 2+1