King’s Lynn Stars: 61

Andersons Quality Butchers Berwick Bandits: 29

(Premier League)

Berwick Bandits dream turned decidedly sour last night at the Norfolk Arena when King’s Lynn decisively derailed the Borderer’s efforts to produce a respectable score.

Down to six men after Heat Two the Bandits lost the services of Scott Smith when he lifted entering the first bend on the opening lap crashing into the fence, thankfully missing his other riders.

He made it back to the pits unaided but was instantly withdrawn from the meeting.

Only Adrian Rymel and Paul Clews could take any pride from the meeting with the pair scoring 22 of the teams overall total, leaving a stark seven for the remaining five Bandits

Bandits team manager Peter Waite said: “Losing such a power-house of a reserve like Smith would be a blow to any side racing on a big track like King’s Lynn, so his exit really put us at a disadvantage from Heat two onwards.

“Having said that Atkin, Aarnio and Magosi all failed to score in all but two of their twelve outings which really lets a team like the Stars grab too much of an early advantage and despite some excellent riding from Paul Clews and our captain Adrian Rymel, with so many passengers its far too big an ask for two riders to rescue a match.

“Overall this was very disappointing as I know we should have done a whole lot better and we will be looking for dramatic improvements before our next match at Stoke on Sunday!”

King’s Lynn Stars: Kevin Doolan 14+1, Shaun Tacey 8+2, Tomas Topinka 12, Simon Lambert 6+3, Rusty Harrison 8+1, John Oliver 7+1, Kozza Smith 5+2.

Berwick Bandits: Adrian Rymel 11, Tony Atkin 1+1, Michal Makovsky 4, Tero Aarnio 2, Norbert Magosi 0, Paul Clews 11, Scott Smith 0 (withdrawn – injured).