TOUGH NIGHT AT BERWICK
BERWICK BANDITS 54 SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 36 (Cab Direct Knockout Cup, quarter-final, first leg)
SCUNTHORPE skipper Simon Lambert insisted that Ellie Rose Travel Scunthorpe Scorpions would come “bouncing back” after a 36-54 defeat in the first leg of their Cab Direct Knockout Cup quarter-final tie at Berwick last night (Saturday).
Scorpions, the current Knockout Cup holders, will have an overturn an 18-point-deficit at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Friday, May 17, if they are to progress to the semi-finals of the competition.
Scunthorpe were holding Berwick in the early stages at Shielfield Park, with two 5-1s in the opening five races, and the scores stood at 15-15.
But Berwick took a 5-1 in Heat 6 and led 35-25 by the end of Heat 10. Bandits also finished the night with a hat-trick of heat advantages. The home side were boosted by the presence of Richard Lawson as a guest for the injured Lewis Kerr – Lawson scored a full 15-point maximum and never looked troubled.
There was some exciting racing on show, with Scunthorpe skipper Simon Lambert twice battling from behind against Danyon Hume in Heat 3 and Heat 10.
There was also some controversy before Heat 12. There appeared to be a disagreement between Lambert and the start marshal before the race, as the start marshal only seemed interested in the position of Lambert at the tapes and not the other three riders. As a result, the referee held the riders for so long that Scunthorpe guest Jack Smith suffered at a burnt out clutch when the tapes finally rose. An angry Smith remonstrated with the start marshal after the race – only to earn himself a fine. There was also an exchange between Lambert and some Berwick fans after the race.
Speaking after the meeting last night, Scunthorpe skipper Simon Lambert, who top-scored for Scorpions with 9+1, said: “Our reign as cup champions isn’t over yet. We’re a team of fighters and teams have come from further behind in the past.
“It wasn’t the night we wanted at all tonight. We just couldn’t get out of the starts and it’s a tough place to come if you haven’t got your gating gloves on.
“Things went against us tonight. Kyle Howarth nudged the tapes in one race, while Jack Smith burnt his clutch out. I’m not sure what the start marshal was doing and he seemed to be trying to ruin it for everybody and a section of the Berwick fans now seem to hate me – but that’s part and parcel of the sport.
“There’s no point on dwelling on tonight and we move on. Tomorrow is a new day. We’ll get some sleep and we will come bouncing back at Workington. We know the aggregate point against Workington would get us through to the final stages of the BSN Series, but to be honest, we want to go to Workington and win, to put ourselves in the best position and make it as hard as possible for the Comets.
“But we won’t take Workington lightly. They were written off by many people at the start of the season, but they’ve won at Redcar already. We’ll go there to do our job and make sure we finish our weekend on the right note.”
BERWICK 54: Richard Lawson 15, Rory Schlein 13+1, Drew Kemp 12, Danyon Hume 8+1, Bastian Borke 6+2, Freddy Hodder 0, Jye Etheridge r/r.
SCUNTHORPE 36: Simon Lambert 9+1, Kyle Howarth 6+1, Connor Mountain 6+1, Jake Allen 6, Michael Palm Toft 4, Jack Smith 3, Luke Harrison 2+1.
* ELLIE ROSE TRAVEL Scunthorpe Scorpions are involved in a BSN Series meeting at Workington this afternoon (Sunday) at 3.30pm. Both clubs are on five points, after double victory over Redcar. The two meetings at Workington this afternoon and at Scunthorpe on Friday, May 10 (7.30pm) will determine who progresses to the BSN Series semi-finals.
