Plymouth Gladiators 45 Berwick Bandits 45
(Berwick win 103-77 on aggregate)
Berwick’s 37-year wait to lift the Knockout Cup ended as they overcame the loss of Peter Kildemand to lift the trophy roared on by over 300 fans who had made the 500-mile trip from the Borders, writes George Dodds.
Kildemand suffered a broken wrist in the second rerun of the opening heat in a crash which also ruled out opposite number Scott Nicholls.
The unhappy end to the Dane’s illustrious career – he will miss the Premiership Grand Final and has now officially retired – was the only sour spot for a night when Berwick and their travelling fans were in dreamland.
Arriving with a 26-point cushion from the first leg they rallied behind the superb Nick Morris to draw on the night.
Morris’ form in the last two months of the season has been nothing short of sensational and he was once again the beating heart of the Bandits’ effort, dropping his only point on the night when unexpectedly thrust into heat one as IIR for Kildemand.
Fittingly it was skipper Jye Etheridge who made Berwick’s victory a mathematical certainty with second place behind Danny King in heat 11, one of only five heat advantages the home side managed on the night.
Jordan Jenkins finished last in the race but it was a rare mis-step as his 11 points gave stand-in team manager Jamie Courtney the firepower from reserve that meant the final result was rarely in doubt.
Berwick enjoyed a depth to their scoring which the home side lacked. Plymouth narrowly provided the majority of race winners but despite the efforts of Joe Thompson and Ben Barker in particular 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 enviously as Morris and Palovaara performed doughnuts
in front of the ecstatic travelling support and the whole of the back straight disappeared amid yellow flares and smoke bombs.
Club owner Jamie Courtney, standing in for Stewart Dickson after the Scot 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 number one.
‘I couldn’t be prouder of the boys, or more delighted for the fans who travelled in huge numbers and created 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 focussed on the job in hand.
‘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 tonight and thoroughly deserved their reward.
’37 years is a ridiculous wait to lift the trophy and the task for everybody at Berwick is to ensure that this is the start of something and not just a one-off trophy. Jye (Etheridge) scoring the points that clinched the win was the icing on the cake. Back in Berwick the Black and Gold was full to capacity watching on the big screen.
‘Jye’s getting the party he spoke about at the start of the season and I’ve a feeling it will be going for some time yet!’
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