SHEFFIELD had to settle for second for a third straight event in the Premiership Pairs at King’s Lynn on Thursday.
Just as they were at Peterborough and Ipswich, the Tru Plant Tigers were one of the standout teams on the night.
But for a second round running they were pipped to the post in the final by Ipswich who now move two points ahead of the South Yorkshire side to lead the series at the halfway point.
The route was slightly different this time around as Sheffield missed out on automatic qualification for the Grand Final.
But after another strong set of programmed rides, Jack Holder and Adam Ellis did extremely well in the Semi-Final against King’s Lynn with their captain Josh Pickering trying every way possible to slow the race down in second and help team-mate Richard Lawson find a way through for the hosts.
Sheffield’s progression set up another final head-to-head with Ipswich and things were looking good for the first half a lap.
But as Holder passed Jason Doyle to take the lead, former Tiger Danny King also found a way past Ellis into bend three with a 5-4 enough to seal victory for the Witches.
Tru Plant Tigers team boss Simon Stead said: “We’ve been so close to winning all three of them so then to find ourselves not at the top of the pile is a little bit frustrating.
“We’ve consistently been second and that’s not good enough in this competition.
“Would I have taken second three-quarters of the way through the meeting, probably as it was looking a little bit ominous at that point.
“But we worked hard and finished strong and while the lads are feeling the frustration and disappointment too, let’s focus on the positives.
“We’re in a good position in the standings with a home leg to come and next up Wolverhampton [July 18] where we’ve got some riders who go very well there.
“So all is not lost, we’re right in the thick of it and it’s all to play for.”
Sheffield’s next league action sees them host reigning Premiership Champions Peterborough at Owlerton next Thursday (July 14, 7.30).
PREMIERSHIP PAIRS Round 3, King’s Lynn QUALIFYING SCORES: IPSWICH 27: Jason Doyle 14, Danny King 10, Danyon Hume (RS) 3. KING’S LYNN 27: Josh Pickering 17, Richard Lawson 10, Jason Edwards (RS) 0. SHEFFIELD 23: Jack Holder 14, Adam Ellis 9, Connor Mountain (RS) 0. PETERBOROUGH 21: Chris Harris 19, Hans Andersen 0, Jordan Jenkins (RS) 2. BELLE VUE 20: Matej Zagar 12, Max Fricke 6, Tom Brennan (RS) 2. WOLVERHAMPTON 17: Steve Worrall 10, Sam Masters 5, Leon Flint (RS) 2.
