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Berwick Bandits v Workington Comets
Premier League, 27 August 2005
Shielfield Park, Berwick

Berwick 56
1Adrian Rymel23331 ..120
3Tom P Madsen100.. ..10
4Adam Pietraszko33213 ..120
5Michal Makovsky33R13 ..100
6Chris Schramm312*32* 2*.133
7Carl Wilkinson02*2*F1 3.82
Workington 38
1(g)George Stancl11*222 ..81
2Shaun Tacey3231*. ..91
3Scott Robson200.. ..20
4Kauko NieminenF120. ..30
5James Wright126^0. ..90
6(g)Scott James101.. ..20
7Tomasz PiszczF012*X 2^051

* = BP. ^ = TR . ! = TS (15m Handicap). # = TR (Points Not Doubled). & = TS (Points Not Doubled, 15m Handicap).

Berwick were on the usual lines with R/R operating for the injured Scott Smith at number 2. Workington had George Stancl as a guest at number 1 for Carl Stonehewer and again had Scott James at number 6.

This could have been a tricky fixture for Berwick particularly since the Comets had Glasgow’s George Stancl at number 1 and newcomer Tomasz Piszcz at reserve. However Stancl had one of his poorest scores at Berwick so the Comets prospects suffered as a result. Had Tomasz Piszcz not been in the wars one way or another he might well have had a double figure return. Once again a massive return of 21+5 from their two reserves made Berwick’s task a lot easier.

It was Workington who took the lead with a 2-4 in the opening heat won by Shaun Tacey from Adrian Rymel and George Stancl. Heat 2 resulted in a first bend crash involving Chris Schramm and Tomasz Piszcz. Carl Wilkinson ploughed into the Workington reserve but, after medical attention for Piszcz, all three took part in the rerun. However Piszcz fell again as Berwick took their usual heat 2 5-1 to move into a two point lead. Adam Pietraszko won heat 3 and it looked as though the race would be shared when Scott Robson and Kauko Nieminen filled second and third places. Unfortunately for the Comets Nieminen fell so Berwick took a 4-2. Heat 4 produced another 5-1 to Berwick from Michal Makovsky and Carl Wilkinson to take the score after the opening four races to 16-8.

Adam Pietraszko won heat 5 against Workington’s top pairing of Shaun Tacey and George Stancl for a shared heat but Berwick added another two points to their lead with a 4-2 in heat 6. It looked like being a home 5-1 until James Wright got up on the line to pip Chris Schramm for second place. A Makovsky/Schramm 5-1 in heat 7 increased Berwick’s lead to 14 points but Shaun Tacey won heat 8 from Pietraszko with Piszcz in third place for a 2-4 to Workington. This took the score after eight heats to 30-18.

In heat 9 James Wright took a TR and won the race with Tomasz Piszcz taking second place ahead of Adam Pietraszko for a big 1-8. There was some dispute before this race was awarded because Piszcz’ s exhaust pipe was seen to be hanging off at the end of the race. However the referee decided that, since it was still attached to the bike, Piszcz should not be excluded and the result stood. This race win brought Workington back into the match at 31-26 but Berwick stretched the lead to 7 points with a 4-2 in heat 10 as Rymel beat Nieminen with Wilkinson just failing to catch the Comets’ man for second place. Chris Schramm won heat 11 but Michal Makovsky fell while in second place gifting a 3-3 to Stancl and Tacey. Then in heat 12 Tomasz Piszcz was leading the race entering the third lap when he threw a chain causing Carl Wilkinson to lay his bike down to avoid hitting him again. The referee awarded the race and excluded Piszcz so Berwick scored another 5-1 which took the score after 12 heats to 43-32.

Stancl split the Rymel/ Makovsky pairing in heat 13 for a 4-2 then, in heat 14, Workington gave a TR to Tomas Piszcz. He finished third to Pietraszko and Schramm for a 5-2 and Berwick then finished the match with a 4-2 from Makovsky and Rymel to earn an 18 point advantage to take to Workington for the vital return match on Monday night.

Match Report by Merlin