SHEFFIELD were sent crashing to a 47-43 home defeat on Thursday night against Premier League high-flyers Somerset.
It turned out to be a thrilling Owlerton encounter between two of the league’s best sides as the match hung in the balance right until the chequered flag of heat 15.
The Tigers still had hopes of snatching a draw in a last heat decider when on the last lap Shane Parker forced his way past the Rebels duo of Christian Hefenbrock and Travis McGowan. However, with Josh Auty unable to find a way past the visiting duo the shared heat meant Tigers had to surrender their unbeaten home record.
It got off to a bad start for Sheffield when in the first heat they suffered their first of three 5-1 setbacks, as McGowan and James Holder carded a maximum.
After that they fought back to level the scores at 18-18, but Somerset hit back with another 5-1 in heat 7 to take a four-point lead.
Tigers did get their noses in front after heat 9 with a 5-1 of their own from Ricky Ashworth and Emiliano Sanchez, but the Rebels raced to their third maximum in race 12 through the fast-starting Hefenbrock and flying reserve Dakota North and it gave them a lead they would never relinquish.
