'It's brilliant to add another trophy': But Sheffield Tigers want more after Knockout Cup success

Over the course of two legs against cup holders Ipswich Witches this week, Sheffield built a 20-point lead with a commanding first-leg win at Owlerton Stadium on Monday night and then held firm in Ipswich on Thursday, fighting back from 10 points down at one stage to draw the leg 45-45 on the night and take the tie 100-80 overall.

The victory marks the third year in succession that Tigers have won a piece of silverware, following on from their League Cup success in 2022 and their crowning moment in winning the British Premiership title last year.

For their team boss and former rider Simon Stead, this Knockout Cup success is just the first of a trophy double they are aiming for with a play-off semi-final against Belle Vue Aces in two weeks time.

“It’s brilliant to add yet another trophy to the cabinet and now we can start looking towards the play-offs because we want to complete that double,” said Stead, after sterling rides from Jack Pickering, Jack and Chris Holder and captain Kyle Howarth in Ipswich.

“Thursday was another great effort from the lads. The result on Monday took a little bit of pressure off us and a lot of the hard work was done then.

“Ipswich came at us strongly early on but I always felt like the gates were in their favour to start with so we didn’t panic because we knew that swing was coming our way.

“It was very similar to when we came here in the league a few weeks ago so we just knuckled down as a group and maintained the belief. It was a real, gritty performance."