Glasgow Tigers unable to overcome Leicester Lions in national speedway final

Glasgow Tigers have narrowly missed out on their first national championship title since 2011.
Action from the play-off final second leg between Glasgow Tigers and Leicester Lions (pic: Taylor Lanning)Action from the play-off final second leg between Glasgow Tigers and Leicester Lions (pic: Taylor Lanning)
Action from the play-off final second leg between Glasgow Tigers and Leicester Lions (pic: Taylor Lanning)

Just two points separated them and Leicester Lions at the end of the second leg of their SGB Championship play-off final at the Peugeot Ashfield Stadium on Tuesday night.

The Tigers didn't do enough early in the meeting to claw back the 12-point deficit from the first leg, though were plagued by bad luck during the match as engine and equipment failures cost them dearly.

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Points were also dropped as the home team suffered three exclusions due to falls or crashes.

Glasgow rallied late on with a 4-2 in heat 12, followed by an incredible 5-1 from Craig Cook and Rasmus Jensen in heat 13, putting them within six of the visitors and offering a glimmer of hope that they could make up the difference.

It looked like the momentum had swung in the Tigers' favour as Sam Jensen and Kyle Bickley raced ahead in heat 14, and looked to be securing a 5-1 when excellent visitor Ellis Perks picked them both off to seal the title for the Lions.

A final heat 5-1 was mere consolation for the hosts, though it meant both Cook and Claus Vissing sealed paid maximums.

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The final result was 91-89 to the Lions, with Glasgow winning 50-40 on the night.

Vissing said: "We all fought for this and it's just not happened. For heat 14 I was there, and the boys were on a 5-1 and it was great, but sadly it didn't last for the whole race. We got away with a 3-3 and it was all lost.

"It's just one of those nights. We were here to win a gold and it didn't happen, and Leicester were here to lose the gold and they managed to keep it.

"It would've helped if we'd come away with a six or eight-point loss at Leicester but that's the way it goes."

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