IPSWICH boss Ritchie Hawkins says the spirit of Foxhall is “rubbing off” on guests after their narrow win against Birmingham.
The result ended at 46-44, the Witches fighting back from eight points down to claim a vital KO Cup semi-final, first leg victory at Perry Barr.
The final heat saw Witches’ Emil Sayfutdinov battle with Justin Sedgmen and a determined outside move to secure the win.
Hawkins said: “After a very stressful day with losing Dan Thompson this morning to illness, I’m absolutely delighted with the fight from the boys.
“Obviously, we were down early and fighting all meeting, but the spirit here seems to be rubbing off onto our guests!
“It made it all worthwhile coming away with a win for all the effort today.
“It leaves us in a great position going into Thursday, but we’ll have another couple of guests and rider replacement again, so it’s still going to be tough.”
Witches have been hit by injury and illness, losing over half their team and needing guests.
Sayfutdinov scored 15+1 with reserve Keynan Rew scoring 13+2.
Justin Sedgmen, Brummies top scorer, gained 15+1 points, and top guest was earned by Norick Blodorn who scored 12+1 points.
Birmingham Brummies boss, Sam Ermolenko, said: “It was very difficult for the boys to actually do the big moves for us.
“Justin was the only one that was actually making a dent and getting into the front corner in front of the opposition.
“I was expecting a little bit more out of some of the guys, and we were missing Stevie Worrall big time.
“We just needed that bit more support and that’s kind of where we lost it.”
Brummies will be hoping for a comeback, with Witches hopeful for more victories in the second round of the Knockout Cup this Thursday at Foxhall Stadium.
Words by Freya Taylor.
Images by Taylor Lanning.