It’s another tight East Anglia derby

East Anglian derbies at the East of England Arena are following a familiar script this season.

Back on Easter Monday, the city side survived a crucial final race thanks to a brilliant ride from Jack Holder to snatch a narrow 46-44 success against Ipswich.

Last Sunday and there was a very similar conclusion to an almost identical storyline with Panthers going into a crucial finale with a twopoint cushion over a Witches side already guaranteed a consolation point.

And, almost inevitably, that man Holder was the leading light as his 14+1-point paid maximum was completed when following in guest number one Josh Grajczonek for a 5-1 that provided the perfect conclusion as far as the vast majority of those making up the biggest crowd seen at Alwalton so far in 2017 were concerned.

It was far from a one-man show, though. Holder might be the hottest property in the second tier of the sport, but he received some fine support from his team-mates during a meeting that was engrossing and pulsating in equal measure.

The sides were never split by more than the final sixpoint margin, while Panthers twice trailed by four points in the early stages.

They levelled when Grajczonek claimed the first of his hat-trick of heat wins in the sixth race, leading home Bradley Wilson-Dean for a 5-1.

New Zealand champion Wilson-Dean was seen to impressive effect again moments later when his heat eight victory inspired a 4-2 that put the hosts ahead for the first time.

Panthers held onto their slender lead through a series of six shared races before Grajczonek and Holder delivered a big finish when blazing clear of main Ipswich man Danny King.