SHEFFIELD co-promoter Peter Mole could not hide his disappointment after a 53-37 defeat at Newcastle.

The Window Centre Tigers missed out on the chance to secure a spot in the Championship Shield semi-finals and must now hope other results go their way.

Another excellent performance from Charles Wright, backed up by guest Jason Garrity and a battling display from James Shanes, was not enough to see the Owlerton outfit emerge with any points.

Lasse Bjerre endured a nightmare evening with bike troubles, and with Jack Smith also struggling there was again difficult covering the absence of Josh Bates.

And Mole says the management team may need to re-assess the situation with rider replacement ahead of their Championship opener at home to Peterborough on Thursday (7.30).

Said Mole: “I was optimistic before the meeting. We obviously knew it was a blow to be without Kyle (Howarth), but we had a very good guest in Jason Garrity.

“Unfortunately I came away very disappointed. We were basically just a four-man team. I can’t fault Jack Smith particularly, but we did expect more from some members of the team.

“Rider replacement didn’t work again, and we need to look at this as a management team because it is costing us away from home.

“There were positives – it was a good performance again from Charles Wright who is proving to be a great signing, Jason Garrity was a good guest and James Shanes fought hard for a good score as well.

“Unfortunately Lasse Bjerre had a nightmare night with equipment and didn’t actually complete a race, which was probably what cost us at least a point in the end.”

“We move on, and we’re looking forward to starting our league campaign on Thursday.”

NEWCASTLE 53: Ashley Morris 14+2, Lewis Kerr 9, Michael Palm Toft 7+1, Carl Wilkinson 7+1, Tero Aarnio 6, Matthew Wethers 5+1, Ludvig Lindgren 5.
SHEFFIELD 37: Charles Wright 13+1, Jason Garrity 12, James Shanes 8+2, Todd Kurtz 4, Lasse Bjerre 0, Jack Smith 0, Josh Bates r/r.