KING’S Lynn are through to the Premiership KO Cup Final after a sensational performance at Foxhall to put out great rivals Ipswich on aggregate.
The PSH Environmental Stars took a six-point lead to Suffolk where a tense semi-final second leg finished 45-45, giving Lynn a 93-87 win overall to set up a Final clash with Leicester.
It was an outstanding performance from the patched-up Stars against a home team who by their own admission were going for a league and Cup double, and whilst Lynn’s dramatic home win over the Witches on Monday in the league had no real impact on their opponent’s ambitions, there were bigger fish to fry in the Cup and the Stars were superbly up to the task.
Once again having a powerful reserve proved key as skipper Nicolai Klindt racked up 14+1 from six rides, whilst Chris Harris notched double figures and there were vital points right down the order, including from guest Lewi Kerr.
Lynn were unable to stop the home spearhead of Jason Doyle and Emil Sayfutdinov – at least until Doyle crashed in the last race when the tie was already over – but what they did so successfully was score big points against the Witches’ middle and lower order.
The meeting got off to a bad start when Doyle and Danny King gated to a 5-1 for the home side in the opening race, but Lynn were quickly into their stride and they won the next two races.
Klindt neatly rounded Dan Thompson to win a shared Heat 2, before guest Kerr and Harris banged in a big 5-1 for the visitors in Heat 3, Harris re-passjng Adam Ellis on the second lap.
The next four races were all shared with Klindt and Jan Kvech packing in behind Sayfutdinov in Heat 5, whilst Harris and Richard Lawson got the better of Tom Brennan in a fierce scrap for the minor places behind Ellis in the next.
Witches captain King was disqualified for a fall in Heat 6 when he and partner Doyle got close on the first bend. Doyle still won the the re-run, and the next was also shared with Harris and Kerr completing a 3-3 ahead of Thompson.
Ipswich edged back ahead on the night with a 4-2 in Heat 8, Lawson managing to split King and Jason Edwards in the early stages, but Stars still led by four points overall and they landed a big blow in Heat 9 when Brennan fell on the first bend as Klindt and Kvech raced to maximum points over Ellis.
That made it 76-68 overall but Ipswich weren’t finished as they took a 4-2 in Heat 10 with Kerr coming to grief, and the Stars had to be aware of the distinct possibility of Ipswich taking 5-1s in both Heats 13 and 15.
A greater buffer was therefore required and after a shared Heat 11, Klindt and Harris struck again in the next, this time with Klindt gating and Harris getting past Ellis in the early stages to put them ten ahead overall.
Ipswich duly took a 5-1 from Heat 13 to narrow the gap to six points as Doyle led from the start and Sayfutdinov drove inside Lawson for second place, meaning Stars realistically needed either a 3-3 from Heat 14, or to avoid conceding another 5-1 in Heat 15.
And it was Heat 14 where it was all decided in dramatic fashion with home hopes initially raised as Brennan took the lead from Kerr on the first lap, and was then joined by Thompson on the third lap, only for Kerr to hit back and re-pass Thompson into the final lap.
Thompson then went wide and fell, with the referee making the correct decision to award the race as a 3-3, although it was good to see Thompson walking away from the crash.
That took all of the tension out of Heat 15, which both of the Witches riders went into unbeaten, but Doyle fell on turn four when battling with Harris and another shared race was the outcome to complete an extraordinary night of racing.
Stars manager Rob Lyon said: “We knew it would be a tough meeting here obviously, but all six riders were tremendous, and we’re delighted to get through.
“The riders knew what was at stake and they fought for every point. You’re always conscious that one race is around the corner that could change it easily, and there were certain races where I thought Ipswich may well get a heat advantage, but the boys just dug in and rode their hearts out.
“It’s tremendous, and it’s credit to the boys. They fought really hard tonight and they’ve shown a lot of fighting spirit over the last few weeks.
“Tonight was no different, so hats off to them, they deserved it. We’ve shown what we can do as a team, and they are responding so well.
“Credit to Lewi, he came in and did a really good job for us, and he will be in the Final now. That was the carrot we dangled to him because he obviously wants more meetings, so he’ll race in the Final providing Sheffield aren’t racing, which we don’t expect them to be.
“I’ve got to be honest, I probably got it 90 per cent right tonight, I wasn’t 100 per cent. I think I made one move that I probably should have changed, I maybe should have had Luke (Harrison) in Heat 13, but it worked out in the end!
“Over the two legs we deserved to go through, so bring on Leicester and let’s have a great Final.”
Dates for the Premiership KO Cup Final have been confirmed as follows: Monday July 28 – King’s Lynn v Leicester (1st leg) Thursday July 31 – Leicester v King’s Lynn (2nd leg)
Next up for the Stars is a home clash with champions Belle Vue in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership on Monday.
IPSWICH 45: Emil Sayfutdinov 14+1, Jason Doyle 12, Danny King 6+1, Adam Ellis 6, Tom Brennan 3, Jason Edwards 2+1, Dan Thompson 2. KING’S LYNN 45: Nicolai Klindt 14+1, Chris Harris 12+2, Jan Kvech 6+2, Lewis Kerr 6+1, Richard Lawson 5+2, Luke Harrison 2+2, Niels-Kristian Iversen r/r. King’s Lynn win 93-87 on aggregate
