Away day woe for Berwick Bandits

Rory Schlein had a preview of how his evening would pan out when, after making the start, he found himself fending off Connor Mountain for most of the race with Ryan Douglas chalking up the first win of what would be a five-ride maximum.

Drew Kemp’s dramatic start-line engine failure allowed Berwic k a share of the heat two spoils and when Leon Flint and Jye Etheridge hit the front in heat three things looked promising only for first Simon Lambert and then Michael Palm Toft passed them to reverse the 5-1.

Sixteen-year-old Harrison was proving to be a useful guest and he hit the front in four forcing Jake Allen to work hard to relegate him to second place.

Tactical substitute Flint could only watch from the back as, with Palm Toft out front, Schlein and Lambert passed and re-passed before the Berwick number one clinched second on the run to the line.

By the time Berwick finally got a heat winner, and heat advantage, in seven with Flint roaring around Allen on the third bend while Etheridge found a way past Nathan Ablitt, the meeting was all-but lost.

Scunthorpe slammed in back-to-back 5-1s before Etheridge and Flint led into the first bend only for Douglas to roar past both down the back straight.

Schlein was in the crosshairs again in 11, again picked off by the home pairing while Berwick were gifted a surprise 5-1 in 12, Lambert losing power on the final bend allowing Etheridge and Hook through after an epic battle against the Berwick man.

Schlein really can claim that his final tally shortchanged him on the night, hitting the front again in 13, relegated to third and finally finding a way to beat Allen to the flag for second place after a monumental race.

Harrison further added to his blossoming reputation by hunting down and passing Ablitt in the penultimate heat, joining his skipper in a share of the spoils behind a second home maximum man in Palm Toft.

Douglas duly completed his maximum in 15 but the battle was behind him for second place with Flint and Allen trading passes before the Scorpion man took the flag.

“There was a lot of effort tonight from all of the boys and we played our part in a really good speedway meeting but have nothing to show for it,” said team manager Scott Courtney.

Scorpions: Ryan Douglas 15, Connor Mountain 6+1, Simon Lambert 7+1, Michael Palm Toft 11+1, Jake Allen 11+1, Nathan Ablitt 6+1, Drew Kemp 2+1

Bandits: Rory Schlein 7, Rider-replacement, Jye Etheridge 7+1, Leon Flint 8, Hans Andersen 1, Jacob Hook 4+2, Luke Harrison 5+1