Bandits scrape by Bears
In a closely contested affair at Shielfield Park, the Berwick Bandits took a 47-43 win over the Redcar Bears in the 1st leg of the MaxiCab KO Cup quarter final first leg. Craig Cook excelled for Berwick with paid 13 whilst Redcar’s guest Leon Flint struck paid 11.
The Bandits began with a 4-2 as Cook made a sublime gate ahead of Charles Wright for the win, and with ex-Bear Danyon Hume taking 3rd at the expense of Jake Mulford, Berwick had the early lead.
Berwick’s early lead was extended in heat two as Dayle Wood rode superbly for an impressive win, and with Berwick’s new signing Jack Smith in a comfortable 2nd, the hosts had a 9-3 advantage.
However, heat three saw Redcar benefit from some good fortune as Drew Kemp’s footrest broke whilst leading with Jason Edwards and Leon Flint benefitting for a Redcar 5-1 to reduce the arrears to two points in the Borders.
After a shared heat four won by Peter Kildemand for the hosts, Redcar levelled matters in heat five with their first heat advantage as Wright won, and with Mulford 3rd, the large travelling contingent were making their voices heard.
Heat six saw Berwick bounce back to re-establish their slender two point advantage as Cook took his second win, and with Hume passing Redcar’s guest Jody Scott on lap one, the home support had their 3rd heat advantage to cheer.
Nevertheless, Redcar battled into a slim two point lead of their own with their first 5-1 as Flint and Edwards squeezed past Kildemand for the maximum heat win.
After Mulford registered his first win in a shared heat eight, Berwick hit back to level the tie as Kemp again won impressively, and with Sam Hagon 3rd (despite briefly holding 2nd ahead of Danny King), the hosts had parity.
Heat 11 saw drama aplenty as Kildemand and Wright collided heading into the first bend, causing Wright to retire due to the Dane accidentally dislodging Wright’s chain which looked set to help Berwick to a 5-1. However, Mulford brilliantly rounded Wood on lap 3 to split the Bandits but the drama was not done. Heading into the final bends, Wood hit the deck and remounted for 3rd, but not before both of the Aussie’s wheels nearly crossed the white line.
Heat 12 saw Edwards recover from a last place in his 3rd ride to win heat 12, and with Redcar’s guest reserve Jody Scott doing well to hold off Hagon, Redcar were once again back level.
Heat 13 saw Berwick retake the lead yet again as Cook won, but with Wright passing Kildemand, the hosts had to settle for a 4-2. Heat 14 saw another Bandits 4-2 as the imperious Kemp won again, and with Wood just holding off Hodder for 3rd, Berwick had a four point lead heading into heat 15.
The 15th and final heat of the first leg saw Wright just edge ahead of Kemp and Cook in the early stages for the win, but with Flint at the back, Berwick had won the meeting and have a four point lead to defend at the ECCO Arena on Friday.
Berwick Bandits = 47
1. Craig Cook = 11+2
2. Danyon Hume = 6
3. Sam Hagon = 2
4. Drew Kemp = 10
5. Peter Kildemand = 8
6. Dayle Wood = 5+1
7. Jack Smith = 5+2
Redcar Bears = 43
1. Charles Wright = 10
2. Jake Mulford = 6
3. Jason Edwards = 8+1
4. Leon Flint (G) = 10+1
5. Danny King = 5
6. Jody Scott (G) = 1
7. Freddy Hodder (G) = 2+1