Berwick Bullets qualify for National League speedway play-offs

In tricky conditions against a home side boosted by the inclusion of new signing Adam Roynon this was never going to be the stroll of three days previously at Shielfield Park.

Berwick also found themselves on the wrong end of some harsh decisions from referee Phil Griffin which threatened to derail them.

Ace Pijper and skipper Kyle Bickley gave them a dream start as they left the home pairing in their dusty wake in heat one but the advantage was immediately wiped out by an eventful reserves’ race, .

Kieran Douglas had produced a trademark lightening trap to lead only for team-mate Ben Rathbone to slide off at the back. In the rerun Douglas lost the charge to the first turn and was then relegated to third place by Rhys Naylor.

Gating was proving to be vital, Luke Crang and Mason Watson comfortably restoring Berwick’s four-point lead in three and Roynon half a lap ahead of Rathbone in four.

Bickley was warned for moving at the start after heat five was pulled back for an unsatisfactory start. Pijper won the rerun impressively and his team-mate managed to split the home pairing after an understandably careful start.

The Bullets maintained their six-point advantage until heat ten when

Roynon and rider-replacement Morley combined for a maximum heat win.

Pijper’s fall behind Bickley – inflicting the only defeat of the night on Roynon – cost the Bullets a point but they enjoyed a stroke of luck in the next heat when Richard Andrews’ fall ruined a home 5-1.

An already hot evening threatened to boil over during a tumultuous heat 13 which began when referee Griffin deemed the start unsatisfactory and then ruled that Bickley had jumped for the second time on the night, the white exclusion light coming on.

What looked a poor decision to the naked eye became even worse when replays were shown on the livestream broadcast. Another one came in the rerun – which the Bullets’ skipper started 15 metres behind the other three riders – as Roynon tried to go around Blair and both riders ended up in the third bend fence.

Neutral observers, along with some Bullets’ officials, anticipated Blair’s exclusion light coming on. What they didn’t expect was it to be accompanied by Roynon’s. A decision poorly received by the home fans and management.

At the third attempt Bickley was unable to make up the starting handicap on Morley and the teams went into the penultimate heat with just a point between them.

Crang and Naylor clashed going into the first bend of heat 14, the referee calling all four back but when the Plymouth rider – who benefitted from a generously elastic two minutes to get back to tapes – hit the deck again in the rerun the race continued with Crang again out front. Behind him Rathbone had to fend off some strong challenges from Abraham to take the second place which sealed victory.

While heat 15 was a bit of a let-down, Bickley and Crang unable to make any impression on Morley and Roynon and grab a fourth point, the celebrations had started in the visiting pits.

Berwick co-owner Jamie Courtney, team manager for the night, said: “I’m super proud of the way the boys stuck to their task tonight.

“It was all about gating and that isn’t always our strong point. Even when we did make the gate the races tended to be called back by the referee.

“We’ve said more than once that winning isn’t everything at this level, it is equally important for riders not used to this type and size of track to get experience of its very different challenges.

“When your top scorer has nine points and the lowest is four and you’ve won away from home then your really can say that everyone has played their part in that win.”

The Bullets wrap up their league fixtures with trips to Mildenhall and Leicester, the results of which will decide who they face in the play-offs.

There is also the National League pairs at Leicester on August 20 with competition fierce for the Berwick nomination.

Centurions: Ben Morley 12+2, Ben Trigger R/R, Richard Andrews 4, Adam Extance 3+1, Adam Roynon 14, David Abraham 5+1, Rhys Naylor 6+1.

Bullets: Kyle Bickley 9+1, Ace Pijper 8, Mason Watson 4+3, Luke Crang 9, Greg Blair 6, Kieran Douglas 4, Ben Rathbone 5+2.

*Meanwhile, the first team, Berwick Bandits will contest their penultimate away fixture of the season in the Championship tonight (Wednesday) when they race at Birmingham.

The Borderers, who still have a slim chance of making the play-offs, will be looking for their second away win of the season at Perry Barr, against a Brummies side who have been struggling for form for most of the year.

Team manager Gary Flint said: “Our home form has let us down this season, no question about that, but we still have an outside chance of the play-offs if we can win all our remaining meetings (Berwick still have to race home and away against Scunthorpe later in the month).

“The lads obviously got a boost from their home win over Plymouth on Saturday – a meeting in which both Chris Harris and Leon Flint raced to paid maximums – and they will be going all out to try and get a result in the Midlands.”