Witches win, but it’s not impressive

IPSWICH ‘Sackers’ Witches progressed into the next round of the Premier League KO Cup, with a comfortable aggregate victory over Scunthorpe on Friday night.

Already with a massive 40-point lead, the home side did their best to pull off what would have been the comeback result of the season so far.

But Ipswich had too much in the tank, although it was far from an impressive Ipswich performance, the visitors providing just four race winners all night and looking anything but a team with KO Cup or Premier League-winning aspirations.

Witches debutant French star, Mat Tresarrieu, was as impressive as any of the visitors, with two heat wins, while Morten Risager came through his first meeting back with the Witches after his severe finger injury.But Ipswich were poorly served at reserve, with neither Chris Mills nor Jerran Hart providing much support.

Indeed if it had been a league meeting, the visitors would have trailed home to Suffolk with their tails between their legs and no points, such was their average performance. But ‘job done’ will probably be the words offered by the Witches riders.

Indeed, the job was to qualify for round two – where a home and away test with Newport awaits – and the Suffolk side managed that.

Scunthorpe took an early lead as Scorpions captain David Howe won the opener, with Viktor Bergstrom passing Ipswich skipper Kevin Doolan.

Hart got no further than turn one before he packed up in the next, before Tresarrieu opened his Witches account with a fine win in heat three, a race stopped because of an unsatisfactory start.

Tero Aarnio and Lasse Bjerre had a battle royal in heat four on a track that was producing some super speedway, with the home man winning. But Scunthorpe weren’t really eating into the Witches mammoth lead, and successive 4-2s to the visitors in heats five and six, pulled the scores level.

Aarnio was showing great form and he won heat seven. But it was at the back where all the drama was unfolding.

Risager and Tresarrieu were holding onto the minor placings, before Jorgensen flew round both of them.

It looked as though the home side were going to get another maximum in heat eight, but Taylor Poole split the home duo.

Bjerre had another great scrap, this time with Ben Wilson in the next, but Ipswich were providing few heat winners. Bergstrom, however, was improving rapidly, and he claimed his second win of the night as he and Howe put the home side 12 points ahead.

With no tactical rides allowed, the Witches were crawling over the finish line, with their aggregate win secured in heat 11, after a drawn heat.

Tresarrieu won his second race of the night in heat 12 after Steve Worrall fell during the first staging of the heat, but Scunthorpe piled on the agony in heat 14 with another maximum as Jorgensen passed Mills on lap one.

The final race of the night was a corker, with the Witches’ best rider on the night, Bjerre, almost passing Howe on the line.

Ipswich were easily beaten, although it was job done, and will need to be in better form than this come Thursday, when league leaders Glasgow Tigers are at Foxhall Stadium.