Lakeside boss Will Pottinger hailed last heat hero Nick Morris after the Hammers snatched a 45-44 win at Ipswich.

Morris dusted himself down from a heat 13 spill to brilliantly round Rory Schlein on the second lap of a heat 15 decider and give his side three points.

The win sends the Hammers, who have won four in a row in all competitions, into the semi-finals of the Championship Shield.

“Nick showed great character to dust himself down after falling when leading heat 13 to split the Ipswich riders and win in the last race,” said Pottinger. “It was a great first lap in heat 15 to get to second place, and we’re delighted to win against a strong side.

“We were never behind, successfully negotiated a tactical ride by the Witches and had a lot of race winners again which is a pleasing aspect, and we’re happy to be into the next round of the Shield.”

It was another impressive team performance from the Purfleet side against a powerful Witches line-up.

Richard Lawson top scored with 11 points, while Adam Ellis and Kyle Newman played vital roles against their former club.

The Hammers return to action at Berwick on Saturday (7pm), with their next home meeting against Ipswich in the Knockout Cup on Friday, May 4 (8pm).

LAKESIDE 45: Lawson 11, Morris 9, Ellis 8, Newman 7, Wajtknecht 5, Morley 3+2, Bowtell 2+1.