Ipswich Witches seized the advantage in the first leg of the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership Grand Final, claiming a 47–43 victory over Leicester Lions at the Hydroscand Arena, Beaumont Park on Monday night.
Feature Image courtesy of Phil Mcglynn – Ipswich Speedway
The Witches had to overcome the early loss of Adam Ellis, who crashed out of Heat 3 after a collision which also saw the Lions record a 5-1 to move four points ahead. Despite that setback, Ipswich responded superbly, with two maximum heat wins of their own to take the lead.
The scores were level at 27-27 midway through the meeting, but Ipswich then strung together a series of strong rides, taking four 4-2 advantages in five heats to establish a useful cushion going into the closing stages.
A dramatic Heat 15 provided a tense finale. The previously unbeaten Emil Sayfutdinov was disqualified for bringing down Leicester’s Ryan Douglas, and the home pair of Douglas and Max Fricke combined for a 5-1 to cut the final margin to just four points.
Sayfutdinov led the Ipswich scoring with 11 + 1, while Tom Brennan added 9 from key heat wins. The reserves were also instrumental, with Dan Thompson and Jason Edwards contributing a combined 14 (paid 17) points to cover for the injured Ellis.
Ipswich team manager Ritchie Hawkins praised the determination of his riders:
“It was a brilliant performance from the team tonight, I am so proud of them. We battled so hard all night – it was a big hit losing Adam so early on but all six men stepped it up.
“It was tough play-off speedway, and we didn’t get much of the rub of the green with decisions, but everyone kept their heads and contributed. It is nice to get a lead and get our noses in front, but everything is up for grabs on Thursday.”
Hawkins highlighted the importance of key moments:
“Emil started us off brilliantly in Heat 1 and it was a superb performance from him. Danny’s win in Heat 5 was really needed and he got that 5-1 with Emil just when we lost Adam, which was really important. Jason was superb, and Dan was amazing again at Leicester.”
For Leicester, Max Fricke top-scored with 12 points, and Douglas backed him with 11 + 1, their late 5-1 offering some hope ahead of the return leg at Foxhall Stadium on Thursday.
Lions boss Stewart Dickson admitted on the clubs website that his side had been beaten by the better team on the night:
“It’s four points, and it could have been a lot worse – it could have been 12 if they’d got a 5-1 in Heat 15. I’ll not sugarcoat it, we’ve lost the home leg and that’s something I wanted to avoid. But they are a good team, and now we need to go there on Thursday and almost do the impossible.”
Dickson acknowledged Ipswich’s strength in depth and also extended his best wishes to the injured Ellis:
“We’ve won there before, and Sheffield won there a couple of weeks ago, but it’s going to be a big task, and if I was in their position I’d be a lot happier than the position we’re in. We wish Adam Ellis all the best. It looked a nasty crash and I hope he’s okay – he’s a nice lad – and it shows you how good they are that they covered well for him with their reserves.”
Ipswich now hold a four-point advantage heading into Thursday’s decisive second leg at Foxhall, where the 2025 Premiership title will be settled.
Full Official Scorecard
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