SHEFFIELD suffered a 53-40 defeat at Redcar on Friday night – their second loss in as many nights to complete a miserable Easter.

Skipper Ricky Ashworth and reserve Josh Auty – who rode for Redcar last season - were best for Sheffield while Paul Cooper's problems continued as he finished with a second successive scoreless tally.

Former Tiger Ben Wilson topped the home charts with a paid maximum.

With the scores level at 12-12 after the sides traded 5-1 heat wins, it all went wrong for Eric Boocock’s men.

Redcar banged in two straight 5-1s top open up a 22-14 lead and after the Bears had stretched the gap to ten points, Hall was given a tactical ride in the hope of clawing some points back.

But it backfired badly as he suffered mechanical problems and missed the two-minute cut, having to start off a 15-metre handicap and only taking third place in the race.

Tigers' final hopes were a second tactical ride in heat 11, this time Ricky Ashworth scorching from the tapes to take six points - but he proved to be Sheffield's only other race winner.

REDCAR: B. Wilson 14+1, C. Stonehewer 10+2, R. Kessler 10+2, T. Proctor 9, G. Havelock 7+2, A. Bugeja 2, B. Compton 1+1.
TIGERS: J. Auty 11+3, R. Ashworth 11+1, R. Hall 6+1, R. Hawkins 5, J. Parsons 4+2, C. Mills 3, P. Cooper 0.