A stirring comeback from the Mildenhall Fen Tigers – proudly sponsored by Manchetts Rescue and Recovery – saw the second part of the team’s Northern Tour, away to league leaders Berwick Bullets on Saturday (18/6), end in a narrow six point defeat and so a crucial NDL bonus point was secured. Five points from the two matches has got the Fen Tigers’ title defence very much on track and there can be nothing but huge optimism and pride in the Suffolk side’s camp.
This was very much a match of two halves – or I suppose more mathematically accurate, one of two-fifths and three-fifths! As after six of the allotted 15 heats the visitors were trailing by eight and the prospect of being the first side this season to take anything away from the notoriously tricky Shielfield Park home of the club from the Scottish Borders looked as distant as Scotch mist.
But the comeback was well and truly launched in heat seven with a fantastic tapes to flag 5-1 from the middle order pairing of Alex Spooner and Jack Kingston and suddenly it was game on – a comeback so successful that by heat 12 the sides were locked together at 36-36.
The early travails that had led to that initial eight points deficit had began in heat two when surprise packet for the hosts, Ben Rathbone picked off both Luke Muff and just before the finishing line Josh Warren to join his reserve partner Kieran Douglas for a 5-1 to the Bullets. Rathbone’s impact then was ultimately to be instrumental again in the penultimate race of the match but this was early doors yet and 4-2 heat advantages to the hosts in heats four and six endured that significant lead going into heat seven.
Having pulled the deficit back to four at that stage, the match entered a period of stabilisation (with ‘Guest’ Danny Phillips coming to the party with a race win in heat nine) and it was clear that the Berwick side were not going to get their customary smooth passage to the match points. The next significant blow after a bout of shadow boxing was dealt by the skipper Jason Edwards and racing partner Sam Bebee – delivering a 5-1 in heat 11 and when Kingston won the next race with Warren providing a vital third place suddenly there was parity.
Edwards winning the always crucial heat 13 meant it was 39-39, the iconic drawn score of old – but these days of course matches are over 15 races and sadly the last two heats were not to go the way of the visitors. Heat 14 was the crucial moment. Rathbone had been the rider last in heat 12 but was brought into the penultimate race anyhow and delivered this time, Spooner was in second though and a 2-4 reverse would leave the Fen Tigers still with a chance of match victory – but the slow starting Greg Blair (Mildenhall’s ‘Guest’ the previous evening of course) had to get past Warren first before overhauling the Fen Tigers’ birthday boy, Spooner on the third lap and the Bullets’ second maximum heat win of the match had come at just about the worst possible time.
So to a final heat with Malcolm Vasey and Jason Gardner’s charges needing a 5-1 to get the draw. The pick to accompany Edwards was Kingston; but sadly try as the pair did, it was a 4-2 going the way of the hosts – crucially though a six points defeat ensured a bonus match point was heading back to West Row with the weary but unbowed Fen Tiger troops.
Joint-Team boss Gardner was full of pride at the performance of the team,
“I’m very pleased with the whole team – eight down after six heats was not the ideal start of course but we rallied significantly in the second part of the meeting and to be the first team this season to take a bonus point away from Berwick (as we indeed were the only team to do that the whole of last season) was very heartening.
“It really was a great team performance. It has to be said that of all away tracks Berwick’s is the hardest place to go – especially when some of the team have been out injured prior to the Tour. Even though their totals were not the highest both reserves certainly got stuck in – Josh got a vital third place to bring us level in heat 12, beating Rathbone. And Luke battled brilliantly in heat eight to retake third in a big battle with their number two, Watson.
“Jack had an extraordinary two days at tracks he’d never ridden before. Three wins on Friday (and very unlucky to fall in his fourth) and now paid 10 at Berwick. His gating has been phenomenal and he actually recorded the two fastest times behind Jason at Armadale,
“As for our skipper – well what can be said about Jason. He’s the star of this division – in his competitive fixtures for us this season he’s not once scored less than 12 points”.
Next up for the Fen Tigers in the NDL is a return match against Leicester Lion Cubs – at home on Sunday 26th. June.
Berwick Bullets 48
Kyle Bickley 3, 3, 3, 2, 3 = 14
Mason Watson F/X, 1, 0, 1 = 2
Ace Pijper 0, 0, 2, 2 = 4
Greg Blair 3, 3, 1’, 2’, 1 = 10+2
Luke Crang 3, 1, 1, 1’ = 6+1
Kieran Douglas 3, 0, 0 = 3
Ben Rathbone 2’, 1, 3, 0, 3 = 9+1
Mildenhall Fen Tigers 42
Jason Edwards 2, 2, 3, 3, 2 = 12
Sam Bebee 1’, 1’, 2, 2’ = 6+3
Jack Kingston 1’, 2’, 2, 3, 0 = 8+2
Alex Spooner 2, 3, 0, 1 = 6
Danny Phillips (G) 2, 2, 3, 0 = 7
Josh Warren 1, F, 0, 1 = 2
Luke Muff 0, 0, 1’, 0 = 1+1
Heat details
1 (stpd/awarded) Bickley, Edwards, Bebee, Watson (fell exc.) no time [3-3]
2 Douglas, Rathbone, Warren, Muff 71.1 [8-4]
3 (rerun) Blair, Spooner, Kingston, Pijper (exc. tapes; 15m) 68.7 [11-7]
4 Crang, Phillips, Rathbone, Muff 69.7 [15-9]
5 Blair, Edwards, Bebee, Pijper 68.8 [18-12]
6 Bickley, Phillips, Watson, Warren (fell) 68.3 [22-14]
7 Spooner, Kingston, Crang, Douglas 70.2 [23-19]
8 Rathbone, Bebee, Muff, Watson 70.6 [26-22]
9 Phillips, Pijper, Blair, Warren 68.4 [29-25]
10 Bickley, Kingston, Watson, Spooner 68.0 [33-27]
11 Edwards, Bebee, Crang, Douglas 68.2 [34-32]
12 Kingston, Pijper, Warren, Rathbone 69.8 [36-36]
13 Edwards, Bickley, Crang, Phillips 68.0 [39-39]
14 Rathbone, Blair, Spooner, Muff 69.8 [44-40]
15 Bickley, Edwards, Blair, Kingston 68.8 [48-42]
