Berwick Bandits stand-in team manager, Jamie Courtney, saluted his squad who won the KO Cup and said: “37 years is a ridiculous wait to lift the trophy. The task for everybody at Berwick is to ensure that this is the start of something, and not just a one-off trophy.”
The Borders club overcame the loss of Peter Kildemand, who broke his wrist in the second rerun of the opening heat in a crash, a painful way to end his career, to lift the trophy roared on by over 300 fans who had made the 500-mile trip to Plymouth.
Former British champion, Scott Nicholls, was also hurt in the crash, but Bandits went into the second-leg with a 26-point cushion from the first leg and they rallied behind the superb Nick Morris to draw 45-45 with Gladiators on the night and take the silverware 103-77 on aggregate.
Club owner Courtney, standing in for Stewart Dickson after the Scot was unable to travel due to a viral infection, was full of praise for the side which lifted the cup they last won when his father, Mark, was Berwick No 1.
Courtney was delighted for the fans who travelled and created what he called a “quite unbelievable atmosphere.”
He said: “Losing Peter was a huge blow and I am so upset that his career has ended this way, but he remained in the pits and helped keep the boys focused on the job.
“We knew Plymouth would come hard early on, but we weathered that and in reality had the answer for everything they threw at us.
“Nick was immense, Jordan too, but all seven riders gave everything for me and the club and thoroughly deserved their reward.”
Skipper Jye Etheridge scored the points that clinched the win with second place behind Danny King in heat 11, one of only five heat advantages the home side managed on the night.
That sparked celebrations trackside and in Berwick at the Black and Gold club which was full to capacity watching on the big screen.
In-form Morris was once again the beating heart of the Bandits’ effort, dropping his only point on the night when unexpectedly thrust into heat one for Kildemand.
Jordan Jenkins claimed 11 points and gave Courtney the firepower from reserve that he needed.
Plymouth narrowly provided the majority of race winners but, despite the efforts of Joe Thompson and Ben Barker, they never looked like landing a fatal blow.
A 4-2 for the Gladiators pairing in heat 15 at least gave them a draw on the night, but they could only look on as Morris and Victor Palovaara performed doughnuts in front of the ecstatic travelling support and the back straight disappeared amid yellow flares and smoke bombs.
Plymouth: Scott Nicholls 0 (withdrawn), Joe Thompson 10, Vinnie Foord 4+1, Ben Barker 12, Danny King 10, Anze Grmek 7+1, Ben Whalley 2+1
Berwick: Peter Kildemand 0 (withdrawn), Jye Etheridge 6+1, Victor Palovaara 8+2, Reid Battye 7+1, Nick Morris 13+1, Senna Summers 0, Jordan Jenkins 11+1
CHAMPIONS: Bandits celebrate with their fans at Plymouth. Pictures Taylor Lanning
JYE JOY: Jye Etheridge, Berwick’s captain, paints the town yellow after the KO Cup win.
