SHEFFIELD boss Simon Stead praised his side for grinding out what he described a much-needed result against Workington.
Tigers picked up their first league win of the season with a 48-42 success over the Comets at Owlerton.
Going into the final race of the night, there had only ever been two points between the sides.
And while Sheffield found themselves on the wrong side of the scoreline with three races remaining, they pulled off two pivotal 5-1 maximums in Heats 13 and 15.
Said Stead: “To be fair to Workington they’ve been flying. They’ve been riding well as a team and we knew it was going to be a difficult task for us.
“Credit to them again as well because they kept it close all the way through even though a few of their boys didn’t score what you’d expect them to.
“But to say we haven’t been riding anywhere near our best would be an understatement.
“Tonight we kept finding ourselves a couple of points behind after getting ourselves back in it.
“But we got the guys together during the interval and we finished really strongly.
“It was a great response from them, we worked together as a team and ground out a much-needed result.”
Danish ace Lasse Bjerre went unbeaten by an opponent in his final four rides to finish with a score of 12 points for a third successive meeting at Owlerton.
Captain Kyle Howarth played a part in both crucial 5-1s in the closing stages of the fixture while Charles Wright rounded off his night with two race wins to his name.
Winter signing James Shanes again demonstrated a liking for his new home circuit with another impressive contribution from reserve while Todd Kurtz produced a solid enough showing from the No.2 position.
It was another night of learning for youngster Jack Smith while Jan Graversen again struggled in the main body of the team, but his only point of the night in Heat 14 was an important one as it meant the Tigers had their destiny in their own hands going into the final race of the night.
Sheffield now face a seven day break from racing and return to Owlerton next Thursday when Redcar visit for the first leg of their Knockout Cup tie.
SHEFFIELD 48: Lasse Bjerre 12+1, Kyle Howarth 11+1, Charles Wright 8+1, James Shanes 8+1, Todd Kurtz 6+2, Jack Smith 2, Jan Graversen 1+1.
