Express & Star

Late rally not enough for Wolves

Wolves bagged a hard-earned point from a nip-and-tuck 46-44 loss at Ipswich in which the lead changed hands no fewer than six times.

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Ex-Monmore Green charger Cameron Heeps racked up 15-paid-16 from reserve for the hosts but the Parrys International Wolves almost snatched a draw with a late flurry, writes Andy Mitchell.

Sam Masters and Kyle Howarth packed the minor places in the opener, the latter seeing off the brief charge of Chris Harris at the back while Richard Lawson jetted away.

Ipswich went two up in the reserve race with Heeps extending his lead throughout ahead of Luke Becker.

Wolves then benefited from a pair of opponents falling, moving ahead in the fourth through Rory Schlein and Becker. They had been on a 5-1 when Krystian Piesczczek fell but easily saw it through in the re-run after Josh Bates had a fuel cap problem.

Much like the re-run of heat three, home hero Danny King was never getting caught having gated in a shared fifth.

Schlein was just as quick away in another 3-3 in the sixth but the tables were turned with Heeps roaring away with the seventh and Piesczczek holding firm despite the best efforts of Scott Nicholls.

Josh Bates then locked up and was excluded in the eighth with Howarth doing a stellar job of pinning Lawson before jetting away from lap two in a Wolves maximum.

That man Heeps wound it on around the outside to outdo Schlein on the final lap of the ninth and back up King’s third win only for the pendulum to swing again with Nicholls leading rider replacement Schlein in a tapes-to-flag maximum.

Nicholls got away with jumping the start of the 12th and led a 3-3 despite being swarmed by Heeps but Harris roared back to win heat 13 and put Ipswich six ahead, their biggest lead of the night.

Schlein came in as a tactical substitute and won with Nicholls third to take it to a last-heat decider raced by the same pair but Nicholls could not quite pass King in second to back up winner Schlein.

Ipswich: Cameron Heepes 15+1, Danny King 12+1, Richard Lawson 7, Krystian Pieszczek 6+3, Chris Harris, 4+1, Josh Bates 2, David Bellego 0.

Wolves: Rory Schlein 15+1, Scott Nicholls 10+1, Kyle Howarth 7+2, Luke Becker 6+2, Sam Masters 6, Ashley Morris 0, Nick Morris R/R.