Berwick Bandits losing streak to Redcar Bears now stands at nine. Bandits did get off to a flyer in Cleveland but any hopes of a win quickly evaporated and the Borders men eventually lost 57-33.
One plus point was the former of Reserve Jake Mulford. He averaged less than half a point from his three previous Championship outings but matched Berwick’s top scorers point for point on the night. There were precious few other bright spots for the Borders’ team.
Midweek signing Jacob Hook from Stellar Monarchs made a solid start to his career at Berwick and there individual moments of satisfaction for Jonas Knudsen, Rory Schlein and Thomas Jorgensen.
Generally, Bandits found themselves beaten from the gate and into the first turns on a night when gating was all-important.
It all started so well as Knudsen (pictured by Taz McDougall) beat Danny King in Heat one, Schlein slipping inside Danyon Hume for a 4-2.
Hook then held off a spirited challenge from Connor Bailey by a tyre width before back-to-back 5-1s put the home side ahead and in the driving seat.
A second fine ride by Knudsen, roaring past the returning Erik Riss, backed by Schlein passing Jason Edwards saw a second 4-2 for the pairing which cut the gap to four points.
Two more ended with an eventful heat eight, Knudsen left adrift by a terrible first turn while Hume moved Hook out to the fence opening a huge gap for Mulford to drive through.
Jorgensen inflicted the first defeat of the night on Riss but with Schlein passed by Edwards it proved to be a disappointing tactical substitution gamble by the Berwick management.
Any lingering hopes the visitors had disappeared in Heat 11 as Hume clattered into Jye Etheridge and Leon Flint, taking the Berwick pair out of contention.
Schlein ended Wright’s maximum hopes with a tapes to flag win in heat 11 and Flint came to life in 12 chasing the German hard for all four laps.
Etheridge was fast off the line in the penultimate race but, in taking Bailey wide, he allowed a gap for Edwards to turn inside and win the race, a miserable night for the visitors ending as King and Riss left the Danish pairing of Knudsen and Jorgensen well adrift in Heat 15.
Berwick co-owner Scott Courtney said: “To be honest, Redcar have bashed us up and, on a night when gating was vital, we have not managed to get heat results even when we had the favourable gates.
“Jonas Knudsen began the night superbly and was in the mix all night, Jacob Hook made a promising debut while Jye did well enough in what was his first meeting following his big crash in Poland but, overall, it was a tough night. The boys need to go away and come back swinging against Oxford next week.”
Bears: DannyKing13+1, Danyon Hume 4+2, Erik Riss 12+1, Jason Edwards 6+2, Charles Wright 11, Connor Bailey 4+1, Jake Mulford 7+2
Bandits: RorySchlein 5, Jonas Knudsen 7, Leon Flint 4+1, Jye Etheridge 5, Thomas Jorgensen 7, Jacob Hook 5+1, Connor Coles 0
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