THE SHEFFIELD WINDOW CENTRE TIGERS almost pulled off a brilliant comeback against Premier League Champions Scunthorpe on Thursday - only to be thwarted by an old friend.

With the Tigers missing over half of their side they were always going to have to produce something special to overcome the Scorpions and they very nearly did it - but there was one man who was determined to deny them.

Josh Auty spent three years mastering the wide-open turns of Owlerton and he showed every bit of that knowledge with a match-winning display for his team in a brilliant local derby.

After exchanging heat wins early on the visitors edged ahead, but a heat 10 5-1 put them firmly in control and the Tigers were left chasing the meeting.

A 4-2 in heat 12 put them back within touching distance and when Oliver Greenwood rode the race of his life in heat 14 to claw another two points back, it looked as if Sheffield may steal something from the meeting.

Auty wasn’t to let that happen though, and when he swept past Richard Lawson in the final heat to take the lead you knew he wasn’t going to be denied. He hung on for the vital win and handed Scunthorpe three league points and a hard-fought victory over a battling Sheffield.

Team boss David Hoggart was proud of his team’s effort; “We gave it everything but obviously we’re disappointed not to get anything considering all the effort we put in.

“Ricky Wells felt unwell all night but did what he always does, Richard Lawson was his usual self, Jason Bunyan rode his heart out and didn’t get the points he deserved and young Oliver Greenwood did a good job for us. He is coming on leaps and bounds and he rode very well.

“Josh Auty was excellent and he rode like he always does - he was hard, fast and he got the points for his team. We hate losing but it’s not through a lack of effort, the boys tried their hardest all night but it just didn’t happen again.”

Sheffield: (Ricky Wells 14+2, Richard Lawson 13, Oliver Greenwood 5+1, Andre Compton 5+1, Jason Bunyan 5+1, Facundo Albin 2, Adam Roynon R/R)

Scunthorpe: (Josh Auty 15+1, Lewis Blackbird 12+1, Nicolai Klindt 7+1, Ryan Douglas 4+1, Tyson Nelson 4+1, Thomas Jorgensen 4, David Howe R/R)