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Stoke Potters v Berwick Bandits
Premier League, 04 June 2006
Loomer Road, Stoke

Stoke 56
1Mark Lemon33332 ..140
2Trent LeveringtonR120. ..30
3Paul Clews32*33Fx ..111
4Robbie Kessler2*32*3. ..102
5Alan Mogridge31*2*2*. ..83
6Barrie Evans2230. ..70
7Luke Priest1*01*1. ..32
Berwick 37
1Stanislaw Burza211#M3 ..70
2David Meldrum1*00.. ..11
3Lee Smethills0022. ..40
4Michal Makovsky131*21 ..81
5Andreas Bergstrom2211. ..60
6Danny Warwick0000. ..00
7Craig Branney31*6^00 1*.112

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

Both Stoke and Berwick were at full strength for this match.

Berwick never really threatened as the three 5-1s from the Kessler/Clews partnership for Stoke was too much for them ever to stage a recovery. After keeping the score reasonably close until heat 8 they finished the match poorly

The opening race was shared. Mark Lemon beat Stanislaw Burza and, although David Meldrum fell and remounted, he still took third place since Trent Leverington retired from the race. Craig Branney won the reserves race for a 3-3 then came the first of the 5-1s from Paul Clews and Robbie Kessler in heat 3. They team rode well to keep Michal Makovsky behind them to open up a 4 point gap and Alan Mogridge kept it that way by winning heat 4 from Bergstrom and Branney to take the score to 14-10.

The second 5-1 from Stoke’s middle pairing arrived in heat 5 with Kessler leading Clews and Burza home to open an eight point lead. Daniel Warwick and Andreas Bergstrom were well away in heat 6 but Mark Lemon passed them both before Trent Leverington also passed Warwick for a 4-2 to put the Potters 10 points ahead. Michal Makovsky won heat 7 but Barrie Evans and Alan Mogridge shared the points behind him. Craig Branney took a TR in heat 8 and won the race after David Meldrum had gone through the tapes and suffered the 15 metre penalty. The 3-6 reduced the home side’s lead to seven points as the score went to 29-22.

The third 5-1 from Paul Clews and Robbie Kessler had Berwick trailing by 11 points as Bergstrom and Warwick finished at the back after Warwick had led briefly. Mark Lemon kept Stoke’s lead intact by winning heat 10 from Smethills and Makovsky. Stanislaw Burza took a TR in heat 11 but this last throw of the dice by Berwick failed when Barrie Evans and Alan Mogridge made the gate and team rode to keep Burza in third place. To compound things Craig Branney fell so Berwick lost another 5-1 to trail by 15 points. Paul Clews continued unbeaten winning heat 12 by passing Lee Smethills on the third lap. Luke Priest took third place as Daniel Warwick fell at the back and the 4-2 increased the home side’s lead to 17 points and the score after twelve races was 46-29.

Stanislaw Burza was excluded from heat 13 under the two minute rule and Craig Branney replaced him. Berwick by now had fallen completely out of the match and they conceded another 5-1 to Mark Lemon and Alan Mogridge who won the battle round the first two bends to head home Andreas Bergstrom. Robbie Kessler completed his paid maximum by taking heat 14 from Makovsky and Branney for a shared race. In the last race, Paul Clews hit the fence on the first bend, was thrown into the air, landed on the fence and ended up back on top of his bike. He was knocked out in the process and was taken to hospital by ambulance – a sad end to a fine performance. After a long delay the race was eventually rerun with Paul Clews excluded. Stanislaw Burza burst from the tapes to lead Mark Lemon. The Stoke number 1 was powerless to prevent Burza from winning and ruining his maximum in the process and, with Michal Makovsky finishing third, Berwick finished with a 2-4 which cut Stoke’s final winning margin to 19 points.

Match Report by Merlin