Lions roar to Scottish victory to maintain league lead
LEICESTER raced to their first away win of the season at Edinburgh, the 50-39 result taking them four points clear at the top of the Championship table.
The Lions began confidently on Friday night, winning three of the first five heats which moved them six points ahead and, while the home side eventually reduced Leicester’s lead to five, Edinburgh suffered a blow in the 10th race that was to prove pivotal to the final score.
The race was stopped within seconds of getting under way when Lasse Fredriksen fell and was excluded, leaving Sam Masters to face the Lions pairing of Nick Morris and Connor Mountain in the re-run.
At the second attempt to complete the heat, Morris emerged from the first two bends ahead with Masters in second place and Mountain third.
As the race moved into the second lap the Edinburgh rider slowed which allowed Mountain to pass and he held his position and the outcome ensured that Leicester gained maximum points – their second of the match.
The result extended the Lions’ lead to nine points and they withstood a tactical substitution by the Monarchs, who introduced Masters to partner fellow Australian, Josh Pickering, in the 11th heat.
The pair made a perfect start only for Richie Worrall to move up to second place after passing Pickering.
After Morris gained his third win of the night in the 12th heat and Worrall was also first across the finish-line in the next race, the end was in sight.
Mountain and Joe Thompson then settled for a drawn heat in the penultimate race, which ensured that Leicester would be heading back home from Scotland with the match points with one race remaining. Morris rounded off a successful night by adding a further win to his total with Masters second and Worrall securing third place ahead of Kye Thomson.
With the season at the halfway stage for Leicester, the result has placed them in a strong position at the head of the Championship table and given their chances of reaching the play-offs a massive boost.
EDINBURGH 39: Sam Masters 14 points, Kye Thomson 9, Josh Pickering 7, Paco Castagna 3+1, James Sarjeant 3+1, Lasse Fredriksen 2 and Jacob Hook 1.
LEICESTER 50: Nick Morris 14 points, Richie Worrall 11, Kyle Howarth 8, Connor Mountain 6+2, Joe Thompson 5+2, Kyle Bickley 5+1 and Dan Thompson 1.
■■Meanwhile Leicester’s second team, the Lion Cubs, launched the start of their season in the best possible manner with an emphatic 59-31 win against the Belle Vue Colts at home on Saturday.
At the centre of their performance were the Thompson twins, Dan and Joe, who both completed the match unbeaten. While the brothers were the driving force, their team-mates were also in good form with new signing Connor Coles winning three of his four races and Max Perry, who turned 15 last month, marked his debut with six points, which included a win in his first heat of the meeting.