SHEFFIELD’S National League team are up to third in the table – although their chances of going second on Thursday night were ruined by the weather.

The joint Sheffield/Scunthorpe outfit easily overcame the Isle of Wight in the first meeting of a double-header at Owlerton, eventually running out 61-32 winners.

And a similar scoreline could have been on the cards when they took on Belle Vue immediately afterwards, but heavy rain forced the abandonment of the meeting after just three races with Sheffield 14-4 up.

It had been a powerful all-round display against the Islanders, with Ashley Birks dropping his only point in five rides to Nick Simmons when the visiting skipper was taking a tactical ride.

By that stage, though, the match was already safe and there were double-figure scores too from Richie Worrall and Adam Wrathall, as Sheffield operated the rider-replacement facility for Steve Worrall due to a commitment for Scunthorpe’s senior side at Redcar.

Belle Vue, who are also challenging for a play-off place, were expected to provide a sterner test but Sheffield were already well in control in the early stages, although that meeting will now have to be re-run.

Scorers v Isle of Wight (61-32): Richie Worrall 15+1, Ashley Birks 14, Adam Wrathall 10+2, Lee Smethills 9+1, Gary Irving 8+2, Stefan Nielsen 5, Jordan Tyrer (No.8) 0, Steve Worrall R/R.