Northampton Foxes edged out in Premiership final-heat thriller at Ipswich

The result at Foxhall was identical to the previous meeting of the sides in Suffolk when they clashed in the KO Cup last month, and with league points now at stake the Foxes will look to turn around the narrow deficit to secure the aggregate point back at the Shaleway next month.

The meeting went down to a last-heat decider with Northampton, who had fought back from eight points down, requiring a 5-1 to draw – but the Witches’ top man Tobiasz Musielak secured the victory for his side, even though his team-mate Richard Lawson was kept at the back.

For the Foxes, Chris Harris proved a perfect guest for the injured Niels-Kristian Iversen with a typically combative 12-point score, a total matched by flying reserve Kye Thomson who won three races in a seven-ride shift.

And there was a welcome return to top form for skipper Nicolai Klindt who totalled 11 (paid 13) from six outings, meaning the Foxes carried plenty of race-winning threat.

Had it not been for mechanical problems elsewhere, especially afflicting No.1 Jaimon Lidsey who was reduced to just a single point, the visitors could well have been celebrating their first away victory.

After conceding a 5-1 to the Tom Brennan/Danny King pairing in Heat 1, the Foxes got into their stride with Thomson quickly getting the better of Jordan Jenkins to win Heat 2 with Luke Harrison supplying third place for a 4-2.

And a big 5-1 followed to the visitors followed in Heat 3 as Harris and Klindt raced clear of Richard Lawson and Scott Nicholls to put the Foxes narrowly ahead.

They maintained that lead in a shared Heat 4, but there were big problems in Heat 5 which was initially stopped for an unsatisfactory start before both Lidsey and Troy Batchelor suffered bike trouble with the clock counting down for the re-run.

Both riders were disqualified for leaving the track through the open gate to get to their spare machines – which under the rules needed to be brought onto the track for them, rather than vice versa, leaving the Foxes reserves coming into the race, with Thomson doing well to split Nicholls and Lawson.

Klindt won a shared Heat 6 before the Witches edged ahead with a 4-2 in Heat 7, Harris finishing in between Musielak and Jenkins, and there was a further blow in Heat 8 when Thomson fell at the end of lap two when trying to recover ground from a previous battle with King.

That race resulted in an Ipswich 5-1 to make it 27-21, so Harris came into Heat 9 for a tactical substitute ride, and he won it with a smart inside cutback on Lawson and Nicholls although Klindt found himself at the back.

Thomson responded to his Heat 8 setback with a fine ride to win Heat 10 ahead of a fierce scrap for second place as King got the better of Harris, but it still cut the gap to four points and Batchelor finished his night on a high with a win over Musielak in Heat 11.

The next race was arguably the key turning point as Ipswich took a 5-1 from Jason Edwards and Lawson to extend their lead to eight, but still the Foxes fought on to take the match down to the wire.

Klindt and Lidsey made the best getaways in Heat 13 only to be split by Musielak with a 4-2 the result, and that result was matched in Heat 14 with Harris initially relegated to the back by Nicholls and Edwards only to fight back and reclaim third place.

That left the Foxes needing a 5-1 from Harris and Klindt in Heat 15 to snatch a draw, but Musielak took control of the race leaving the visitors to pack in for second and third places and put themselves in a decent position for the return fixture.

Next up for the Foxes is an opportunity for a second successive home victory as King’s Lynn visit the Shaleway on Thursday June 4.

Ipswich 47: Tobiasz Musielak 13, Danny King 8+2, Richard Lawson 6+1, Scott Nicholls 6+1, Jason Edwards 6, Jordan Jenkins 4+1, Tom Brennan 4+1.

Northampton 43: Chris Harris 12, Kye Thomson 12, Nicolai Klindt 11+2, Troy Batchelor 4, Luke Harrison 3+1, Jaimon Lidsey 1, Jonas Jeppesen r/r.