SHEFFIELD boss Simon Stead felt there were “lots of positives” after a hard-fought defeat at Redcar.

The Tigers led by two points after Heat 7 but eventually went down 49-39 on a controversial night on Teesside.

Drew Kemp was controversially excluded in Heat 8 after a great four-lap battle with Tom Bacon and that seemed to swing the clash in the home side’s favour.

Stead said: “I felt we did a good job. I’m not happy to lose, I’m never happy with that. We kept it close early and looked in good shape.

“But the Heat 8 exclusion for Drew seemed a bit harsh and we lost control of the meeting from there on.

“There’s lots of positives from this though. We have to remember that Zaine Kennedy has never been here and he struggled.

“Drew rode really well but somehow only got three points. We didn’t have much luck on our side but I’m not going to moan and grumble about it.

“It will take some of the younger lads time to settle away from home. I think we did a decent job. But it will definitely be tough on Sunday. Redcar look a good side this year.

“This is a tough place to come. They look really good on their home track and have got specialists at Owlerton so we will need to bring our A-game on Sunday.

“They’ve already won at Newcastle a week ago and have a very impressive middle order. The boys will need to re-group and be ready for what is set to be a cracker.”

Perhaps the biggest talking point of the night was Heat 14 when Ty Proctor passed Nathan Greaves coming out of turn four.

The Redcar youngster came down and was excluded only for him to leap up and run at Proctor causing a pit gate fracas.

Redcar 49: Ben Barker 12+1, Charles Wright 10, Jordan Stewart 8+1, Michael Palm Toft 7, Tom Bacon 5+1, Jack Smith 4+3, Nathan Greaves 2.

Tigers 39: Kyle Howarth 11, Ty Proctor 10+1, Danny King 7+1, Broc Nicol 4+2, Kasper Andersen 4, Drew Kemp 3, Zaine Kennedy 0.