KING’S Lynn have it all to do in the Premiership League Cup final after a 51-39 defeat at home to Sheffield in the first leg.
The Minors & Brady Stars head up to Owlerton for the decider on Thursday (7.30) having misfired at the Adrian Flux Arena with too many usually reliable riders suffering off nights.
Frederik Jakobsen (12) and Thomas Jorgensen (11+1) led the scoring and bagged five race wins between them, Jakobsen exerting impressive control when out in front while Jorgensen displayed trademark tenacity but others were unable to back them up.
Team boss Alex Brady said: “I am full of disappointment.
“We came here expecting the score to be the reverse of what it was, we couldn’t make a start in a lot of the heats and it was nip and tuck early doors.
“I felt we had found something that worked from heat five onwards but it did not quite work for us.
“I feel like a broken record saying it was not our night, there were some highlights with Freddie who was excellent, Thomas as well, but unfortunately we were not good enough collectively.
“We will try to claw it back as best we can on Thursday but there is no hiding that this was a really disappointing night. We were beaten by the better team.”
The first four races were all shared with Jakobsen making two sharp starts for the Stars and Jorgensen an impressive winner of heat one as he blasted inside Lewis Kerr on turn three.
Kerr and Jack Holder responded to break the deadlock with a 5-1 in heat five as Stars skipper Josh Pickering fell on the third bend and Richie Worrall was squeezed out.
The home side clawed back two points with a 4-2 in heat six thanks to a super ride by Jorgensen to hold off the ever-present threat of Tobiasz Musielak but Adam Ellis kept the Tigers ahead by ending Jakobsen’s unbeaten run in the next.
The gap was up to four again when Kerr defeated Jorgensen in heat eight with another ex-Stars man Connor Mountain adding third place.
The home side finally got back on terms in heat 10 with a rapid getaway from Jorgensen whilst Richard Lawson charged around the outside for a 5-1, leaving the scores tied at 30-30.
However, the Tigers hit back immediately and it was that man Kerr to the fore again in heat 11 while his team-mate Holder forcefully shut out Jakobsen off bend four to restore Sheffield’s advantage.
Things got worse for the home side when Ellis bolted from the outside gate to out-trap Worrall who was then passed on the inside by a good effort from Justin Sedgmen to put Sheffield eight points up.
The Tigers completed a hat-trick of 5-1s thanks to Musielak and Holder in heat 13 to confirm victory on the night before the Stars fashioned a response in a terrific heat 14 with Jakobsen and Pickering making their way past Kyle Howarth.
Sheffield had the final say, though, with Musielak and Ellis racing clear of Jorgensen and Jakobsen to give the Tigers a 12-point advantage going into their home leg.
LEAGUE CUP FINAL, 1st leg KING’S LYNN 39: Frederik Jakobsen 12, Thomas Jorgensen 11+1, Josh Pickering 5+2, Richie Worrall 5+1, Richard Lawson 5, Nicolai Klindt 1+1, Jason Edwards 0. SHEFFIELD 51: Tobiasz Muslielak 12+1, Adam Ellis 11+1, Lewis Kerr 10+1, Jack Holder 8+3, Justin Sedgmen 4+1, Connor Mountain 4+1, Kyle Howarth 2.
