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Sheffield Tigers v Berwick Bandits
Premier League, 22 September 2005
Owlerton Stadium, Sheffield

Sheffield 48
1Sean Wilson3302. ..80
2Ben Wilson1133. ..80
3Ricky Ashworth3233. ..110
4Richard Hall2*1*2*1. ..63
5Andre Compton3331*. ..101
6(g)Benji ComptonXFn... ..00
7Kyle Legault2111. ..50
Berwick 41
1(g)Paul Thorp2323. ..100
2Carl Wilkinson0001*. ..11
3Tom P Madsen1X... ..10
4Adam Pietraszko0226^. ..100
5Michal Makovsky0210. ..30
6Chris Schramm1R01*. ..21
7Scott Smith324^1*2 2*.142

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

Sheffield were at full strength but Berwick used Paul Thorp as a guest for Adrian Rymel at number 1. The Bandits had to win all three points in order to push Rye House to their last league match of the season for the Championship. They had an 18 point lead towards the bonus point from their 37-55 win at Shielfield earlier in the season.

Sheffield got off to a winning start. They took an opening heat 4-2 with Sean Wilson beating Paul Thorp but the Bandits levelled again in heat 2. In the first running of the heat Benji Compton brought down his team mate, Kyle Legault, and Berwick’s Scott Smith and was excluded from the rerun. Scott Smith won the rerun from Kyle Legault for a Berwick 4-2 but in heat 3 Sheffield took a 5-1 from Ricky Ashworth and Richard Hall although Adam Pietraszko forced the best out of Hall to take second place. Another Sheffield advantage came from heat 4 with Andre Compton winning from Scott Smith for another 4-2 to take the score after the opening four heats to 15-9.

Paul Thorp kept the Bandits’ hopes alive with a fine win over Ricky Ashworth and Richard Hall for a shared heat 5 but in heat 6 Sheffield edged another two points in front when Sean Wilson beat Michal Makovsky for another 4-2.

There was a dreadful crash in heat 7 again involving Benji Compton. Tom P Madsen, who was attempting to pass Compton at the time, was the other rider involved. Both riders were thrown through the air landing heavily and there was a lengthy delay as the hushed crowd waited for news about both of them. They were taken to Sheffield’s Northern General Hospital but no news was available at the time as to the extent of their injuries. There was some discussion as to whether to continue with the time now approaching 10.00pm. Apart from other considerations the match, which had not started until 8.30pm, was not likely to finish within the curfew deadline. Eventually heat 7 was rerun with Madsen excluded as the cause of the stoppage. Kyle Legault came in to replace Benji Compton and the race was won by Andre Compton from Adam Pietraszko for another Sheffield 4-2 and a ten point Tigers’ lead. In heat 8 Scott Smith took a TR and although he led he was passed by Ben Wilson and the heat was shared 4-4 to take the score after the eight heats to 30-20.

Heat 9 all but put the match outwith Berwick’s reach as Ashworth and Hall took a 5-1 ahead of Makovsky to increase the home side’s lead to 14 points. However Pietraszko and Smith kept the match alive by sharing heat 10 won by Ben Wilson with Sean Wilson at the back. Kyle Legault withdrew from the meeting leaving Sheffield with no reserves so Andre Compton had to go on his own in heat 11. He won it though from Thorp and Wilkinson for another shared heat. Ricky Ashworth did the same in heat 12 and Berwick could now only win the match with a successful Tactical Ride as the score after twelve heats was 44-30.

It was all over after heat 13. For some reason known only to Berwick, Paul Thorp was not given a TR but nevertheless he beat both Wilson and Compton comfortably for a 3-3 and the Championship went to Rye House with the Bandits still trailing by 14 points with two heats left. Although it was now of little relevance there was still the matter of the bonus point to be decided with Sheffield still four points in arrears. Their chances didn’t look too good since they could only field one rider in heat 14. Adam Pietraszko went as a TR in this heat and won it. Scott Smith who had started 15 yards back passed Richard Hall after Hall’s throttle had jammed open for a 1-8 to Berwick which was too late for the match to be salvaged but clinched the bonus point. The match was abandoned at this point due to the curfew and heat 15 was not run.

Match Report by Merlin