KING’S Lynn’s first trip to Ipswich since 2002 ended in a hefty 59-31 defeat in their Premiership Supporters’ Cup season-opener.
Whilst the Witches clearly benefited from their double warm-up against Leicester last week, the Poultec Stars suffered a myriad of first-night problems in a match to forget.
Skipper Robert Lambert was reduced to just two points from five rides, and his crash on the first bend of Heat 1 rather set the tone for the meeting.
The home side dominated at reserve with Cameron Heeps especially impressive, giving them a strength-in-depth scorechart – whilst the Stars struggled to support German ace Erik Riss.
Thomas Jorgensen and Lewis Kerr grabbed an excellent 5-1 in Heat 3 to cut back an early deficit, but the Witches responded immediately and Riss found himself upstaged by Krystian Pieszczek in Heat 5.
Stars gained a point in Heat 6 when David Bellego suffered trouble late-on, but Kerr fell whilst leading Heat 7 and Ty Proctor touched the tapes in Heat 9 as the hosts stretched clear.
The group points were virtually in the bag when Bellego shot past both Jorgensen and Kerr to join Chris Harris for a 5-1 in Heat 10, although Riss kept on charging with a fine ride to win the next.
But the Witches rubbed it in with two successive maximums before the nominated races, where Heeps duly completed an unbeaten night in another 5-1 with Danny King – and even hopes of a Riss/Kerr consolation in the last were thwarted by a spectacular effort from Harris.
Manager Scott Campos said: “It’s disappointing especially in a local derby, I thought there would be a bit more fight, but it’s the first one of the season, a few problems have been ironed out and we’ll come back.
“Erik was on fire, he attacked it well and he looked a class above, but overall the guys are bitterly disappointed and it’s going to be a different story from now on.”
Stars turn their attentions to the Premiership Shield next week, with Poole visiting the Adrian Flux Arena in the first leg on Monday.
IPSWICH 59: Chris Harris 12+1, Cameron Heeps 11+1, Danny King 10+4, Krystian Pieszczek 7, Richard Lawson 7, Jake Allen 6+1, David Bellego 6+1. KING’S LYNN 31: Erik Riss 12, Thomas Jorgensen 5+1, Lewis Kerr 4+1, Ty Proctor 4, Michael Palm Toft 3, Robert Lambert 2+1, Kasper Andersen 1.
