SHEFFIELD missed out on the chance to boost their play-off hopes despite a battling display at Rye House on Tuesday.
The Window Centre Tigers were hampered by the withdrawal of skipper Simon Stead as they slipped to a 51-41 defeat.
Stead suffered a foot injury after a crash whilst leading heat five - and although Kyle Howarth and Dimitri Berge put in brilliant displays it was not enough to earn them a consolation point.
Team boss Eric Boocock admitted the loss of Stead in the early stages meant they were always up against it.
And he was proud of the effort shown by his side around the notoriously tricky Hoddesdon circuit.
Boocock said: “We were desperately unlucky tonight, and we would have probably won it if we didn’t lose Steady in his second ride.
“We were already down to six riders with Jason missing, and then losing Steady so early on put us on the back foot.
“On top of that we had Josh having issues with bikes all night, so to be going into heat 15 still with a chance of a point was a great effort in many ways.
“Kyle and Dimitri were both excellent and the team tried their absolute best – I couldn’t fault them for effort.
“It’s been a frustrating night, but we saw some good spirit within the team and we’ll just focus on Wednesday’s meeting against Scunthorpe now.”
Howarth roared to a stunning 17+1 point haul, including a second place behind Sam Masters as he took a tactical ride in heat 10.
Flying Frenchman Berge also put in his best away performance in recent memory to earn a classy 12 points in the No.2 spot.
Yet Josh Bates experienced a night plagued by bike problems, whilst Arthur Sissis struggled with the exception of a superb heat 12 victory alongside Howarth.
Nathan Greaves also experienced a night to forget as the Tigers narrowly missed out on a potentially vital consolation point despite a resilient performance.
RYE HOUSE 51: Stuart Robson 10+2, Sam Masters 10+1, Ben Morley 10+1, Leigh Lanham 8+1, Rob Branford 7+4, Kasper Lykke 6+2, Cameron Heeps r/r. SHEFFIELD 41: Kyle Howarth 17+1, Dimitri Berge 12+1, Josh Bates 4, Arthur Sissis 3, Simon Stead 3, Nathan Greaves 2, Jason Garrity r/r. Premier League points: Rye House 3 Sheffield 0
