Morten Risager

IPSWICH Witches fell to a 47-43 defeat and collected a solitary point in the West Country tonight (Friday) after a dramatic clash with the Plymouth Devils.

Pete Simmons’ side were unable to build on the home victory against Leicester Lions the night before and last week’s emphatic 51-39 victory over Berwick at Foxhall.

The Witches held an eight-point lead early on, only to be pegged back by the third-from-bottom hosts who led 41-37 with two heats left.

In the penultimate race, Ipswich were convinced they had sealed a four-point win but referee Ronnie Allen ruled that Mat Tresarrieu did not pass James Holder on the line and Plymouth led 44-40 going into the final heat.

The final race saw more controversy as the hosts’ Cory Gathercole was excluded despite looking as though he had been sandwiched out by Witches’ pair Morten Risager and Rohan Tungate.

However, Ben Barker held his nerve to stave off the threat of Risager and Tungate, regaining his composure after getting into a muddle.

Risager followed up a sound performance in Thursday night’s 48-42 home win against Leicester with a superb 19 points but Tungate’s paid nine was the nearest any of the Dane’s team-mates got to matching his tally as Ipswich travelled back to Suffolk with their tails between their legs.

Next up for the Witches is a home clash with last night’s opponents on Thursday.

Witches: Poole (3+1), North (2), Lanham (7), Tresarrieu (3+2), Tungate (7+2), Heeps (2+1), Risager (19)

Devils: Barker (15 max), Kurtz (9+3), Gathercole (9), Holder (3+2), Fisher (7), Ksiezak (3), Reade (1)