Berwick Bandits produced an incredible comeback, the last heat decider one of three successive 5-1s, which maintained their 100 per cent home record, and kept their play-off hopes alive with a 47-43 victory over Cab Direct Championship pace-setters Poole Pirates.
On-fire Nick Morris (pictured by Keith Hamblin) followed his 19-point haul guesting for Glasgow Tigers at Armadale with another sensational performance, earning 16 points and a bonus.
He crucially teamed up with guest Leon Flint, a former Berwick rider, for 5-1s over ex-Edinburgh Monarchs skipper, Sam Masters, in heats 13 and 15, writes George Dodds.
They also teamed up in heat 10, Morris as a tactical substitute, as Berwick continued to peg the visitors back without claiming the lead.
Earlier, Masters and fellow guest Edward Kennett both won their opening four rides as, Morris apart, Berwick struggled for race winners.
Cooper Rushen and Kennett’s 5-1 in heat 12 took the score to 32-40 in the favour of the visitors and summed up much of the night, Victor Palovaara gating, Reid Battye briefly challenging, but Pirates taking the spoils.
Even when guest Flint shot from the gate and tactical substitute Morris passed Masters to join his team-mate for the evening it still looked like a forlorn hope as the home side prepared to face the unbeaten Kennett in the penultimate heat.
Gary Havelock, Poole’s team manager, looked to have made an inspired choice as Sam Hagon and Rushen hit the front. Reid Battye traded places twice with Rushen before his race ended spectacularly.
Observers noted that Rushen took away the front wheel, sending the Aussie cartwheeling down the home straight.
Battye rose from the track and proceeded to follow Jordan Jenkins home in the re-run, levelling the scores and Flint made a lightning start in the last race while Morris powered his way past Masters to seal the victory and spark wild celebrations.
Havelock raged over Rushen’s exclusion, the stadium floodlights or lack thereof and taunted the home side’s celebrations by declaring that they still wouldn’t qualify for the play-offs.
Stewart Dickson, Berwick’s team manager, said:“We had to dig deep for that but, in the end, I feel we worked hard enough to deserve the win.
“No question the referee made the right decision to exclude Rushen, he rode right through Reid who was very lucky not to be badly injured, but it did give us a second chance in the rerun, one which we took.
“It was a very brave ride from Reid and, having been handed the opportunity, Nick and Leon delivered the win in style.”
He said: “Our future is in our own hands. We have beaten Poole with a couple of riders off-form. There are three meetings left for the Bandits and realistically we must look at winning them all.”
Bandits: Leon Flint 10+3, Jye Etheridge 2, Victor Palovaara 4+1, Jordan Jenkins 6+1, Nick Morris 16+1, Vinnie Foord 1, Reid Battye 8+1
Pirates: Sam Masters 14, Will Cairns 4, R/R Zach Cook, Cooper Rushen 4+1, Lewis Kerr 6+1, Edward Kennett 12, Sam Hagon 3
