IPSWICH Witches skipper Chris Louis says that teamwork will be the key to success at Foxhall Stadium tonight.The Witches entertain Swindon Robins (start 7.

By Elvin King

IPSWICH Witches skipper Chris Louis says that teamwork will be the key to success at Foxhall Stadium tonight.

The Witches entertain Swindon Robins (start 7.30pm) after suffering their first defeat of the season when the Wiltshire side beat them 53-40 at Blunsdon in the Elite League on Tuesday.

It was a blow to lose so convincingly, but Louis feels that the Witches can hit back in style in the quick-fire return on their own track.

“We will be going into the meeting with high hopes of not only winning but also claiming the aggregate bonus point,” said Louis, who was not at his best on Tuesday and scored just four points.

“We will have superior knowledge of our track, and if we can work as a team, as we have done for most of the season, there is no reason why we should not achieve the result we want.”

Both teams will be unchanged with Ipswich looking to take significant points off Russian Renat Gafurov, Pole Adrian Miedzinski and Dane Mads Korneliussen in particular.

Grand Prix riders Leigh Adams and Lee Richardson will provide Ipswich with a stiff test, and with both capable of scoring well as tactical riders if Swindon slip nine or more points behind, the Witches top men will need to be at their best.

Sebastian Ulamek won the league with Coventry last season, and he has shown up well at Foxhall in the past so he cannot be underestimated, either.

Piotr Protasiewicz and Robert Miskowiak both raced to maximums in the home win over Oxford last week, while Mark Loram dropped just one point.

If those three can carry on their best Foxhall form, and receive good back-up from the rest of the side, it could be an exciting night as Ipswich would then seriously push Swindon for the extra point.

Witches promoter John Louis had no complaints about the defeat at Swindon in a meeting that was staged on a wet track after 30 minutes of rain prior to the start.

He said: “It was a miserable night all round. Conditions were not too bad, and it was a fair decision to race but we were generally off the pace.

“The Swindon top two - Leigh Adams and Lee Richardson - were virtually invincible, but we had chances and a good result from heat 11 when Chris Louis was riding for double points would have seen us finish closer.

“Kim Jansson took Chris's riding line when he should have been looking.

“That is one of the skills of being a speedway rider and something that has to be learned.

“Swindon will find it just as hard to ride our track as we did at their place, and I am hopeful we can pull off a good victory.”

Tonight's line-ups

Ipswich: C Louis, K Jansson, P Protasiewicz, R Miskowiak, M Loram, J Jaros and D King. Team manager: M Smillie.

Swindon: L Richardson, M Korneliussen, R Gafurov, S Ulamek, L Adams, A Miedzinski and S Alden. Team manager: A Rossiter.