DEPLETED Sheffield were unable to prevent a heavy 59-37 defeat at Plymouth last night.
The injury-hit Tigers were always set to face a tough task with Andre Compton, Taylor Poole, Leigh Lanham and Josh Bates all sidelined for the trip to the St Boniface Arena.
It proved a difficult evening as the Owlerton outfit were comfortably beaten despite a brave effort from their patched up side.
Skipper Simon Stead raced to two race wins for the visitors as he bagged 11 points from four rides in the No.1 spot.
He joined forces with Ben Wilson for a big 8-1 in heat 11 as Wilson again impressed at reserve with another strong showing.
Guesting Aussie Todd Kurtz top scored for the Tigers against his former club, adding a tactical ride win on his way to 12 points from the middle order.
However, Nico Covatti struggled to get to grips with the tricky Plymouth track whilst youngsters Tyler Govier and Sam Chapman gained little reward despite determined performances as they stepped in as guests.
Although unable to challenge for a consolation point, Tigers’co-promoter Peter Mole praised the efforts of their patched-up side and thanked the guests for their efforts.
Said Mole: “Considering we had so many injuries and went there with half a team I think we did all that could be expected of us.
“I’d like to thank the guests who turned out for us. We had a lot of problems finding riders at such short notice, so we appreciate Todd Kurtz, Sam Chapman and Tyler Govier for riding for us and giving it their all.
“Todd rode really well against his former club, and both Ben Wilson and Simon Stead scored plenty of points as well but unfortunately our injuries meant they just didn’t have enough support.
“Nico Covatti tweaked his knee in his second ride as well which forced him to pull out of his last race, so we were effectively a three man team really.
“Everyone gave it a good go despite the circumstances, and we just hope our injury situation will improve over the next few weeks.”
PLYMOUTH 59: Kyle Newman 13+2, Josef Franc 12, Sam Simota 11+4, James Wright 11+1, Ulrich Ostergaard 7+2, Roland Benko 5+1, Rasmus Jensen R/R.
SHEFFIELD 37: Todd Kurtz 12, Simon Stead 11, Ben Wilson 10+1, Sam Chapman 2, Nico Covatti 1, Tyler Govier 1, Andre Compton R/R. Premier League points: Plymouth 3 Sheffield 0
