Sheffield Tigers lose out in speedway Premiership Grand Final
Despite a second leg win, Sheffield Tigers fell short of winning their first SGB Premiership title losing to Belle Vue Aces.
The Aces managed to hold on to win their first top-flight win in 29 years, with the score over two legs ending 91-89.
Sheffield Tigers beat Belle Vue in the second leg 50-40 in a dramatic affair at Owlerton Stadium but a 3-3 in the penultimate race sealed Sheffield’s fate and put The Aces out of their reach.
Aces captain, Brady Kurtz, said: “We got the job done. What a club, what a team effort it has been all season long and we have such a great bunch of guys both on and off track.
“Sheffield are a tough team especially around Owlerton and fair play to them, they pushed us hard all night long and they certainly made us work for this.”
Some contentious decisions by the referee didn’t help Sheffield’s attempts to overcome the 12 point deficit coming into the second leg. The major turning point came in Heat 11 when Tobiasz Musielak was controversially disqualified handing the Aces a 5-1 win in the heat.
Tigers team boss, Simon Stead, tweeted: “There’s no hiding our disappointment but I'm so proud of these lads. Gave it everything over two legs. Thanks to our amazing fans who played such a big part in making the Playoffs a fabulous advert for Speedway.”
Sheffield Tigers head into another final next week, visiting King's Lynn in the Premiership League Cup Final on Monday before the deciding leg on Thursday, once again at Owlerton Stadium.
Image credits: Ian Charles
