SHEFFIELD secured second spot in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership with a superb 47-43 win at table toppers Ipswich.
Jack Holder and Josh Pickering pulled off a last race 5-1 to silence the Foxhall faithful and head back to South Yorkshire with two final league points in the bag.
It means they have leapfrogged Leicester right at the death – and have chosen to stage the second leg of their semi-final on Thursday, September 18 (7.30pm) with the Lions hosting the first leg on Monday, September 15 (7.30pm).
Sheffield gated on a 5-1 against the Witches in Suffolk in the opener, but Emil Sayfutdinov passed Leon Flint up the inside on bend three lap two with the Tigers opening up an instant two point lead.
The first of five straight shared races came in Heat Two with Anders Rowe making a flying start whilst Jye Etheridge slid off on the second lap.
The Tigers were again quickest out of the traps in the third but whilst Nick Morris pulled clear early on, Chris Holder was passed by both Dan Thompson and Jason Doyle – who just about made his opening ride after being delayed on his way to the stadium with a timely electrical fault in the referee’s box pre-meeting aiding his cause.
Josh Pickering and Rowe outgated their opponents in Heat Four but Tom Brennan rounded the pair on the opening lap.
Flint and Jack Holder took the minor placings behind Doyle in Heat Five before Pickering and Rowe settled behind Sayfutdinov in the sixth whilst home captain Danny King fell whilst challenging the Tigers’ pair early doors.
Sheffield stretched their lead to six points with a first maximum in Heat Seven; Morris picked himself up and dusted himself off after an unsatisfactory start in the initial attempt to win the re-run whilst Chris Holder made another good gate and this time rode solidly to secure second.
Ipswich gained their first advantage in the eighth with Flint splitting King and Edwards as the Witches moved back to within four before Pickering won his first race of the night beating Doyle and Thompson whilst reserve switch Etheridge’s nightmare continued with bike issues on the start line.
The hosts levelled when King and Sayfutdinov ended Morris’ unbeaten start with a 5-1 over him and Chris Holder in Heat Ten before another run of four shared races set up a tense finish.
Jack Holder team rode with Flint superbly to seal the minor placings behind Brennan and ahead of Adam Ellis in Heat 11 before Chris Holder and Anders Rowe took second and third behind Doyle in Heat 12.
Jack Holder reacted quickest to help him on his way to the flag in Heat 13, fending off some early pressure from Sayfutdinov.
A tight first bend in Heat 14 saw Thompson work his way to the front whilst Rowe and Morris kept Ellis at the back to force a last heat decider.
And whilst Jack Holder again made a textbook start, Pickering battled his way from last to second during the course of the opening lap to seal the deal.
IPSWICH 43: Emil Sayfutdinov 10+1, Jason Doyle 10, Tom Brennan 8+1, Danny King 6, Adam Ellis 5, Dan Thompson 2+2, Jason Edwards 2+1.
SHEFFIELD 47: Jack Holder 11+2, Josh Pickering 9+1, Anders Rowe 8+3, Nick Morris 7+1, Leon Flint 7, Chris Holder 5+1, Jye Etheridge 0.
