The Berwick Bandits were another man down with Hungarian Norbert Magosi joining Tony Atkin on the sidelines with injury prior to last night’s Premier League match at the Isle of Wight.

Atkin’s ankle injury and Magosi’s shoulder damage were covered by guest from King’s Lynn, Kozza Smith and rider replacement

Berwick’s skipper Adrian Rymel again excelled, stamping his authority on proceeding by winning the opening heat with ease whilst his fellow Czech Michal Makovsky showed promise in Heat Three when he chased the leader Paul Fry, passing him briefly before settling for a solid second.

Unfortunately Makovsky’s machine was less enthusiastic in Heat Six when it ground to a halt on the third lap allowing James Holder and Jason Bunyan to nab a 5-1 over the Bandits to lead 22-14.

A disappointing Heat Seven ensued with Makovsky at the rear behind Tero Aarnio as Krysztof Stojanowski and young reserve Andrew Bargh took another easy five extending their lead to 12 at 27-15 as Berwick looked to be losing ground rapidly.

Berwick’s guest, Kozza Smith took the eighth untroubled, but Scott Smith let go of second when Holder shot underneath the Scud on the final lap to turn the maximum into a 2-4.

Two more Islanders’ 5-1s in the following two heats despite some excellent chasing from Makovsky in the 10th put the home side 18-up leaving Berwick no option but to nominate their inspirational captain Rymel as a tactical rider for double points in the 11th.

The Bandit made the fast gate he needed and shot into the lead and despite the close attentions of Stojanowski on his inside line as Smith (K) found the drive to go round them all to lead off bend two, but allowed his skipper through to maximise the doubled points to six in a 1-8 hauling the Islanders back to within 11.

Over 12 and 13 Berwick tucked in for the minor placings to share the heats, but the wins by Phillips and Stojanowski had done just enough to seal the home win, and with Fry and Bargh out-gating Clews and Aarnio in the 14th the match was well over before Rymel took another massive win in Heat 15 with Smith (K) in third for a Bandit’s 2-4 ending the match at a creditable 53-40 score line, better than many teams at the Islanders’ large track.

Berwick’s Team Manager Peter Waite said: “The lads can be proud of this tonight as they rode a lot better than the score would suggest, especially Michal who suffered a cruel engine failure early on.

“It means our main aim this year is to make sure of a good play-off position and get our glory from there in 2008.”

Isle of Wight Islanders 53
Jason Bunyan 1*,2*,3,0 = 6+2
James Holder 2,3,2,2* = 9+1
Glenn Phillips R,0,2*,3 = 5+1
Paul Fry 3,3,3,3,0 = 12
Krysztof Stojanowski 3,3,1,3,2 = 12
Andrew Bargh ® 1,1,2*,2* = 6+2
Richard Sweetman ® 3,0,0,0 = 3

Andersons Quality Butchers Berwick Bandits 40
Adrian Rymel © 3,2,6^,1*,3 = 15+1
Kozza Smith (guest) 0,1*,3,2*,2,1 = 9+2
Michal Makovsky 2,R,0,1,2 = 5
Tero Aarnio 1*,1,1,0,0 = 3+1
Norbert Magosi – Rider Replacement
Paul Clews ® 2,2,1,0,1*,1 = 7+1
Scott Smith ® 0,0,1,N = 1