SHEFFIELD suffered their first defeat of their League Cup campaign as they went down 51-39 at Ipswich.
The Window Centre Tigers were unable to repeat their stunning away wins at Scunthorpe and Peterborough as they left Foxhall empty handed.
It was a tough night for the Owlerton outfit as they faded after a bright start to suffer their first defeat of the season so far against Premier League opposition.
However, joint team manager Marc Bates was far from concerned after being undone by a strong Witches side.
Bates said: “We’d have liked to carry on our winning run, but Ipswich is always a hard place to come.
“We were going well up until around heat 10, but they just seemed to have too much for us towards the end of the meeting and we just tailed off.
“We are still through to the League Cup semi-finals though, that’s the main thing and we aren’t too concerned about tonight.”
Jason Garrity top scored from the No.5 spot, notching paid double figures with a typically battling performance featuring two wins in his opening two rides.
Skipper Simon Stead added two classy wins from his four riders whilst British Under 21 Champion Josh Bates earned a heat 15 appearance.
Middle order man Kyle Howarth ended a tough night with a win in his final ride, plus youngster Nathan Greaves added a solid three points at reserve.
However, Richard Hall and Dimitri Berge largely struggled around the tricky Foxhall circuit as the Tigers missed out on a consolation point for their efforts.
They will now begin their Premier League campaign as they host Rye House at Owlerton this Thursday (7.30).
IPSWICH 51: Nico Covatti 13, James Sarjeant 11, Morten Risager 8, Paco Castagna 6+1, Danny King 5+3, Lewis Kerr 5, Darryl Ritchings 3+1.
SHEFFIELD 39: Jason Garrity 9+1, Simon Stead 9, Josh Bates 9, Kyle Howarth 5+1, Dimitri Berge 3, Nathan Greaves 3, Richard Hall 1.
