Five-star weekend “just the start”

A perfect, five-star weekend against Edinburgh has set up a real grandstand finish for the BSN Series Scottish qualifying section.

From nowhere Berwick have drawn level with Glasgow at the top of the mini section with the teams meeting in what has become a winner-takes-all clash at Ashfield on Friday night.

And there is also the consolation prize of the “best second” place which will complete the semi-final line-up of the new competition.

It’s all very much a contrast from just seven days ago when the FTS Bandits, powered by Keenwood Karpets, were licking their wounds following a 13-point home defeat at the hands of the Tigers.

“It’s a massive turnaround,” team manager and co-promoter Gary Flint admitted.

“As management we were very disappointed, more with the performance rather than the actual result against Glasgow. This weekend we could not be prouder of the riders.

“To be honest it wasn’t a case of reading the riot act last weekend. The riders knew that they had not performed well and took it upon themselves to put things right.

“During the week on the group chat and then when they arrived at Armadale you could sense something special was on the cards, a togetherness and teamwork.

“And they were rewarded by that hard work – and it was hard work as Edinburgh gave us problems in both meetings – with five points out of five.

“Effectively we control our destiny at Ashfield on Friday and then against Redcar in the cup the following night.”

Leading the way all season has been Australian Rory Schlein who allayed any fears that he might take some time to recover ground during his brief retirement with a string of fine performances.

While his double figure haul at Armadale was a gating masterclass on Saturday night he looked ultra-fast and pulled off a string of sublime passes on a track he is still getting used to.

But even Rory had to take second billing on Saturday as Leon Flint put a frustrating start to the season behind him and produced the kind of fence-hugging blasts which have become his trademark at Shielfield.

A big week has seen him get a tiny taste of Polish speedway with his new club Ostrow and before leading his home town club to glory.

“There have been some disappointing moments in the opening few weeks of the season but everything just seemed to click, especially tonight,” he admitted.

“While I’m delighted with my own maximum it was also a fantastic performance from the team and the backing of the fans tonight was great too. A big thank you to them.

“But I still think we have a lot more to give and we now go into next weekend on a high and with a lot to play for.”