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Berwick Bandits v Stoke Potters
Premier Trophy (Group), 13 May 2006
Shielfield Park, Berwick
| 1 | Stanislaw Burza | 2 | 1* | 0 | 0 | . | . | . | 3 | 1 |
| 2 | David Meldrum | F | 2 | 3 | 2 | . | . | . | 7 | 0 |
| 3 | Lee Smethills | 0 | 2* | 3 | 3 | T | . | . | 8 | 1 |
| 4 | Michal Makovsky | 3 | 3 | 2* | 3 | 2 | . | . | 13 | 1 |
| 5 | Andreas Bergstrom | 2* | 1 | 2 | 1 | . | . | . | 6 | 1 |
| 6 | Danny Warwick | 1* | 0 | 0 | . | . | . | . | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | Craig Branney | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1* | 1 | 1 | . | 8 | 1 |
| 1 | Mark Lemon | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2* | X | . | . | 9 | 1 |
| 2 | Trent Leverington | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | . | . | . | 4 | 0 |
| 3 | Paul Clews | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | . | . | 13 | 0 |
| 4 | Robbie Kessler | 1* | 2* | 1 | 2 | . | . | . | 6 | 2 |
| 5 | Alan Mogridge | 1 | F | R | 3 | . | . | . | 4 | 0 |
| 6 | Barrie Evans | 3 | 3 | 1* | 1 | 0 | . | . | 8 | 1 |
| 7 | Luke Priest | 0 | 0 | 0 | . | . | . | . | 0 | 0 |
* = BP. ^ = TR . ! = TS (15m Handicap). # = TR (Points Not Doubled). & = TS (Points Not Doubled, 15m Handicap).
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Both Berwick and Stoke were at full strength for this match. This turned out to be a tougher assignment than Berwick might have expected. Even with an under par Alan Mogridge, Stoke’s challenge gave Berwick little room for error with the Clews/Kessler pairing scoring particularly well. The result of the match was decided by a controversial refereeing decision in heat 15 which went Berwick’s way. Stoke took the lead in the opening heat. Mark Lemon won the race from Stanislaw Burza while Trent Leverington picked up the third place point for a 2-4. Barrie Evans won the reserves race for Stoke after it had been rerun with all four back after Warwick and Priest had fallen on the first bend. Michal Makovsky won heat 3 but Paul Clews and Robbie Kessler took the minor places for a shared race. A struggling Alan Mogridge surrendered first place in heat 4 to Craig Branney and Andreas Bergstrom causing Berwick to take the lead with a 5-1 which took the score after four races to 13-11. Another 5-1 from Michal Makovsky and Lee Smethills who kept Mark Lemon at the back suggested that Berwick were off and running as they took a six point lead. In heat 6 Barrie Evans won after Alan Mogridge had fallen blocking David Meldrum’s challenge for a shared race then in heat 7 Stoke hit back with a 1-5 from Paul Clews and Robbie Kessler who team rode brilliantly to block Andreas Bergstrom’s every move. This cut the deficit to two points and it stayed that way after heat 8 won by David Meldrum from Trent Leverington with Barrie Evans third from Craig Branney. This took the score after eight races to 25-23. Lee Smethills and Michal Makovsky added another 5-1 to the Berwick score in heat 9 after Alan Mogridge had retired and the Bandits went six points ahead again. It was down to four after heat 10 won by the impressive Paul Clews and it took a last lap pass on Robbie Kessler by David Meldrum to prevent a 1-5 converting it to a 2-4. The tenacious Potters pulled two more back to get within two points of their hosts with another 2-4 in heat 11 with Mark Lemon beating Andreas Bergstrom and Trent Leverington picking up the vital third place. The see-sawing continued in heat 12 as Berwick took a 4-2 to stretch the lead to four points again. Lee Smethills beat Paul Clews with Craig Branney taking third place for a 4-2 which took the score after 12 races to 38-34. It was all square after heat 13! Alan Mogridge made the gate and Mark Lemon slotted in behind him for a 1-5 ahead of Andreas Bergstrom to tie the match at 39-39. Michal Makovsky won the vital heat 14 from Robbie Kessler but Craig Branney took third from Luke Priest who took his third compulsory ride for a 4-2 which gave the Bandits a two point lead going into the last race. In an eventful heat 15, Lee Smethills touched the tapes and was replaced by Craig Branney. It looked as though the Potters were going to win the match when Paul Clews and Mark Lemon hit the front but, on the last lap, Michal Makovsky burst between the Stoke pair. Mark Lemon moved out to stop his manoeuvre but Makovsky fell. The referee excluded Mark Lemon for his move and awarded the race to the leader, Paul Clews, with Michal Makovsky placed second and Craig Branney third. As a result, the points were shared and Berwick were home by two points. Phew! Match Report by Merlin |