Plymouth produced a determined response at the Coliseum, but the knockout cup had already been tilted heavily by Berwick’s first-leg advantage away from home. The Gladiators matched the Bandits 45-45 on the night, yet the 58-32 defeat in the opening meeting left too much ground to recover and the visitors took the trophy on aggregate.
That is the central story from the final leg. Plymouth showed character, and there were periods when they dragged themselves back into the contest, but Berwick’s cushion from the first meeting meant the home side were always fighting against more than just the race score on the night.
The meeting itself had an unsettled start. Scott Nicholls was withdrawn after going to the medical room (Shoulder), while Berwick’s Peter Kildemand also withdrew (wrist), leaving both sides using Injured Rider Replacement. Even with the changes, Plymouth kept working to find heat advantage and stayed in touch on the night.
There was little between the sides through the middle stages. Ben Barker, Danny King, Joe Thompson and Anze Grmek all contributed to keep Plymouth competitive, while Vinnie Foord picked up valuable points as a guest. The Gladiators’ efforts ensured Berwick were never allowed to pull away in the home leg, and the scoreline stayed level going into the closing stages.
Plymouth’s best spell came when they kept taking the meeting deep and gave the crowd something to stay with. Heat 11 brought a 4-2 to level the scores at 33-33 on the night, and Heat 12 then edged the Gladiators ahead in the home leg. But Berwick answered again, and the crucial point remained the same: the visitors were protecting a substantial aggregate lead built in the first leg.
Heat 15 finished 45-45 on the night, with Joe Thompson leading the home charge in the last race, but by then the cup had effectively been decided by what had happened in Berwick. Plymouth won the battle on the evening for long spells, yet the tie had already been shaped by that opening 58-32 result.
There was a real sense of occasion around the Coliseum, with both grandstands full, queues still building as the meeting got under way and a bumper crowd on hand for the final night of the season - even the polish sausages sold out by heat 2!. It was a proper Speedway meeting, and the home support had plenty to latch on to as Plymouth kept battling to the end.
For Gary May’s side, the result brings the curtain down on the season without the cup prize they were chasing. The positives are in the response, the commitment and the way the Gladiators refused to let the meeting drift, but the first leg proved too large a gap to bridge.
Image: Isobel Young