BANDITS LEAD BY FOUR

BERWICK were held to a four-point first leg margin by Redcar at the halfway stage of their MAXiCab Knockout Cup quarter-final tie.

The Bandits were 47-43 winners at Shielfield Park, having led for the majority of the meeting but never being able to extend their advantage.

4-2s in Heats 13 and 14 put them back ahead after visitors had levelled on the night, but Bears skipper Charles Wright won Heat 15 ahead of Drew Kemp and Craig Cook to leave the gap at four points.

Cook (11+2) and Kemp (10) led the way for the Bandits despite the latter having mechanical trouble when leading his first ride, whilst Wright scored 10 for the visitors with guest Leon Flint on 10+1.

Berwick boss Stewart Dickson said: “We always knew it was going to be tight – just about every meeting in the Championship this season has been decided by a few points – but the important thing was to get the win.

“Four points is a slender lead, but it’s still four points Redcar have to claw back, and we can defend.

“I was pleased with the performance of our reserves; they imposed themselves on the Redcar pair, and those points were vital.”

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Photo credit: TAZ McDOUGALL