SHEFFIELD boss Simon Stead felt his side were unlucky to be on the end of a 53-37 scoreline at Leicester.
Tigers were just four points down with nine races gone, but the hosts reeled off four straight heat advantages to ensure they maintained their unbeaten home record with two races to spare. It was another frustrating afternoon on the road for the Owlerton outfit who were restricted to five race winners and just three heat advantages against a strong Leicester side - but boss Stead says the stats aren’t a reflection of his side’s efforts. “We didn’t have the rub of the green and we’ve had serious amounts of bad luck,” Stead said. “One rider in particular in TK (Todd Kurtz) had more bad luck in one meeting than some riders have all season. “Obviously we’re disappointed, we don’t go anywhere to lose, but we were a bit rusty early on having not raced for a while and we didn’t get off to the start we’d have liked. “When you go through it all, we probably threw four, six points even away. “So whether it would’ve changed the final outcome or not I’m not too sure, but the scoreline would’ve looked quite different had we had a bit more luck on our side. “While we weren’t good enough to win on the night, there are still some positives we can take from this. “A big shout out to the fans who were here to cheer the boys on today; we appreciate the support as ever and we hope we can get back to winning ways very soon for them.” Danny King was the only Sheffield rider to reach double figures while captain Kyle Howarth was in the thick of the action. Todd Kurtz and Justin Sedgmen both managed a race win in their first meeting since signing for the Tigers whilst Josh MacDonald also took the chequered flag in Heat Two. Drew Kemp found three third places from his four outings while reserve Zaine Kennedy endured one of the tougher fixtures of his maiden British Speedway campaign. Tigers head to Edinburgh on Friday before hosting the Monarchs at Owlerton on Sunday (5.30). LEICESTER 53: Aaron Summers 13+1, Scott Nicholls 12, Ryan Douglas 9+1, Connor Mountain 6, Ty Proctor 5+1, Ellis Perks 5+1, Joe Lawlor 3+2. SHEFFIELD 37: Danny King 11+1, Kyle Howarth 8+1, Josh MacDonald 5, Justin Sedgmen 5, Todd Kurtz 4, Drew Kemp 3+1, Zaine Kennedy 1+1.