Stars’ play-off aspirations are severely dented

King’s Lynn suffered a major setback with a 52-38 home defeat to Leicester on Monday, leaving them with a major uphill battle to reach the play-offs.The PSH Environmental Stars were outgated by a very impressive Lions team who moved into the top four of the league table, and look like an outfit others will want to avoid when it comes to the business end of the campaign.Time and again the home side found themselves chasing from the back, and although there were several brave passing moves from the likes of Jan Kvech and guest Chris Harris, all too often it was for damage limitation.Kvech battled his way to paid-12 and Patryk Wojdylo again impressed at home with 11, whilst Harris produced the ride of the night at the very end of Heat 15, passing Luke Becker as the American was denied a maximum.Prior to that, Becker had won his first four rides and looked super-fast throughout, and that feat was matched by Max Fricke who the Lions rested from the final race.Others in the Stars side found set-ups hard to reach, with captain Niels-Kristian Iversen reduced to an uncharacteristic four-point score, whilst guest Adam Ellis suffered a nightmare evening and was left scoreless.Team boss Rob Lyon said: “It was very strange tonight, whatever the boys tried it just wasn’t working and Leicester were the better team. “Sometimes I suppose you just have to accept that. The track was a little different to what it has bene but nothing unusual, it was a good track and the Leicester boys adapted to it straight away. “So it’s a strange one because every single rider in the team, maybe with the exception of Patryk, struggled tonight.“It certainly hasn’t helped our play-off chances. I haven’t sat down and worked out the mathematics of it, but it hasn’t helped.”An early Leicester 5-1 was cancelled out by the ever-reliable Wojdylo/Anders Rowe combination in Heat 2, but the warning lights were flashing with the number of Lions race wins. The visitors took the next six heats, and they could have been more than eight points up after Heat 6 but for Kvech splitting Becker and Sam Masters in Heat 3, Harris and Rowe both going inside youngster Sam Hagon the next race, and Kvech getting the better of Richard Lawson in a big scrap for second in Heat 5.Manager Rob Lyon utilised his tactical substitute with Kvech coming into Heat 7 to partner Harris, but again that turned into damage limitation as Becker raced clear whilst the Stars duo had to force their way past Masters. Iversen and Kvech gave Lynn hope with a 5-1 in Heat 9 but that hope was quickly extinguished by Becker and Masters’ immediate reply in the next, and a Lions 4-2 followed in Heat 11 with Lawson holding off Harris for third.Leicester wrapped up their win with a fast-gating 5-1 from Masters and Kerr in Heat 12, Kvech having no way through this time, and although Harris raced past Douglas to split the visitors in Heat 13, the Lions still went 18 points up as Fricke and Becker continued their winning ways. But there was at least a final race to smile about with Wojdylo dominating Heat 15 whilst Harris had a super battle with Becker, finally going around him off the final bend on the run to the line.Lynn are scheduled to next be in action at home to Belle Vue on Thursday.King’s Lynn 38: Jan Kvech 11+1, Patryk Wojdylo 11, Chris Harris 8+2, Anders Rowe 4+3, Niels-Kristian Iversen 4, Adam Ellis 0, Benjamin Basso r/r.Leicester 52: Luke Becker 13, Max Fricke 12, Richard Lawson 7+1, Ryan Douglas 7+1, Lewis Kerr 7+1, Sam Masters 6+1, Sam Hagon 0.Leicester win the aggregate point.