KING’S Lynn suffered a 52-38 defeat at Leicester on Thursday after a disastrous start to the meeting, which leaves their play-off hopes hanging by a thread.
The PSH Environmental Stars are now three points behind Ipswich, who were beaten themselves on the road on Thursday at bottom club Northampton although they did just secure the aggregate point.
The Witches also have a match in hand and race twice at home next week, and the Stars will need to hope they slip up against ideally both Sheffield and Belle Vue.
It was a big night at the Hydroscand Arena but unfortunately the early stages turned into a nightmare as Lynn conceded 5-1s in the opening three races, before pegging things in the second half of the contest with Max Fricke reeling off a string of wins, whilst Cooper Rushen showed good improvement as proceedings went on.
The events of Heat 1 gave a taste of what was to come as Ben Cook took a heavy fall on the way into the first bend, with all four riders allowed back in the re-run, which Fricke led into the first bend from gate four only to suffer a puncture on the exit of turn two as Ryan Douglas and Drew Kemp sailed through for a 5-1.
Home guest Justin Sedgmen made the start in Heat 2 with Joe Thompson getting the better of Jordan Jenkins around the outside for a second Lions maximum, and it got even worse in Heat 3 when Sam Masters and Dan Thompson combined to squeeze out Jan Kvech on the first turn as they made it 15-3 to give Lynn a mountainous task.
The run of 5-1s was at least halted in Heat 4 but only after skipper Chris Harris came from the back to make it round Joe Thompson at the end of the first lap, and again it was the home side on a maximum in Heat 5 before Fricke switched inside Masters off the fourth turn, although he wasn’t able to catch Dan Thompson up-front.
Jordan Jenkins came to grief on the second bend of Heat 6 just as Harris was battling with Douglas, and with Jenkins’ disqualification the re-run saw the home No.1 take the win for another 4-2 to leave the score at 27-9 to the hosts.
Yet again the Leicester riders held a 5-1 position in Heat 7 with Nick Morris bursting his way to the front, but Kvech and Rushen at least bundled their way past Sedgmen for the first shared race of the meeting.
Cook made a good start to give Lynn their first win in Heat 8, but Jody Scott was kept at the back by Kemp, whilst a tactical substitute outing for Fricke in Heat 9 was partially successful in that the Australian won the race, but Harris was unable to get on terms with Masters to salvage a point for third place.
Another 3-3 followed in Heat 10 with the Stars packing in behind Douglas, and they did finally register a big race advantage in Heat 11 as Fricke closed down Morris into the first bend enabling Cook to join him around the outside in a welcome 5-1.
But it was only a matter of damage limitation with the gap down to 14 points, and the final four races were all shared as Lynn were unable to make any further inroads.
Masters won Heat 12 to effectively seal the Lions’ win on the night despite a strong challenge from Kvech who worked his way through in the early stages, whilst Heat 13 produced a dramatic moment as a fierce battle between Harris and Morris saw the Stars captain clip the front wheel of his rival as both went down, leading to his disqualification.
Fricke won the re-run to inflict what would be Douglas’ only defeat of the meeting, and Rushen rode an excellent first two turns to get the better of Dan Thompson in Heat 14 with Jenkins kept at the back by Sedgmen.
The final action of the evening saw Douglas gain some revenge over Fricke by outgating his opposite No.1 from gate two, with Fricke and Cook left clear for a shared race when Thompson slowed after a lap.
The eventual margin of 14 points could have been far worse based on the early stages, but it was still far from the outcome Lynn were looking for.
Stars manager Rob Lyon said: “It was typical really that Max made the start in Heat 1 and then had a puncture, so a 3-3 turned into a 5-1.
“There were a couple of heats where we were in good positions, one when Bomber was in front, and the referee stopped the race when I think he could have awarded it, so a few bits and pieces.
“But it was one of our typical slow starts. We’ve had a few of those unfortunately, and we leave ourselves with too much to do to realistically get back in to make an impact.
“We rallied a little bit and given the start we had it was a respectable scoreline I guess – but it’s not play-off form unfortunately.”
Stars will have a clearer idea of their prospects ahead of the return fixture against the Lions at the Adrian Flux Arena next Thursday, September 10.
ROWE MOTOR OIL PREMIERSHIP R2 LEICESTER 52: Ryan Douglas 14, Dan Thompson 10, Nick Morris 8+1, Sam Masters 7+2, Joe Thompson 5+1, Drew Kemp 4+2, Justin Sedgmen 4+1. KING’S LYNN 38: Max Fricke 13, Ben Cook 7+2, Jan Kvech 6+1, Cooper Rushen 6+1, Chris Harris 4, Jordan Jenkins 2+1, Jody Scott 0.
