Bandits Steal Points
v Berwick, Posted 31/07/04

There have been a few occassions recently when Glasgow have been stuffed at Shielfield but in all honesty Berwick didn't so much win this meeting tonight. It was more a case of Glasgow handed it to them gift wrapped.

The meeting itself was more or less 'from the gate'. WIth Grieves and Dicken missing Glasgow drafted in Cam Woodward as a guest inthe main body of the team with James Cockle taking the vacant reserve slot.

Stancl posted his intentions right from the off with a blistering win in heat 1 with Woodward ensuring an early advatage claiming 3rd. However heat 2 was far from as hospitable with Carrillo a non-starter due to late arrival and Cockle suffering an engine failure on the second lap.

Heat 3 saw a share of the points followed by a heat 4 exclusion under 2 mins for Eric Carrillo which was to prove costly later on in the evening. James Cockle took his place, Berwick took a 5-1 courtesy of a blown engine for Shane Parker whilst leading.

Stancl came out in heat 5 to claim the fastest time of the season so far round the Berwick circuit but the joy was short lived as Berwick posted another 5-1 in heat 6 after a mistake surprisingly by Parker.

With Glasgow now 9 points down and Shielfield expert Bentley due out of the best gate of the evening the Glasgow fans expected a Tactical Ride but for some reason Ian Steel decided otherwise. A costly mistake as Bentley passed Kristensen early on and stormed home for a fine victory with partner Woodward in third.

Glasgow followed this with a 5-1 advantage in heat 8 and a 4-2 advantage in heat 9 to come back to within one point of the Bandits. However Berwick got a new lease of life and started to turn the screw with a 5-1 followed by a 4-2.

Heat 13 saw a tremendous ride by Stancl ably backed by Parker for a 5-1 and things were looking rosy. However, the decision to allow Carrillo to be exluded under 2 minute rule in heat 4 was to come into play in heat 14 as it meant Carrillo hadtechnically had 7 rides and had to be replaced by Cockle. Berwick got the 4-2 required and despite a comprehensive heat 15 victory by Stancl and Parker the points remained in the borders.

Stancl had a good night and was firing on all cylinders and as expected Bentley also rode well. Woodward and Cockle were both worth more than their points total suggests although Woodward did fall unchallenged whilst in second which proved costly. Parkers engine was completely blown in heat 4 and it took another race for him to set his other bike up. I am sure Eric will want to forget this one, a poor score by his standards. Being late due to filling his diesel van with petrol would also add to the expense of the night!

I am not a fan of the TR rule this year but its here and as such has to be used. Tactics do form part of the sport and there are more than just the riders involved in a team sport. The manager has an important part to play including making decisions with regards to tactics and in my opinion that is where Glasgow lost this meeting between the time exclusion in heat 4 and lack of tactical ride in heat 9.

The scorecard and heat details can be found here.

Tiger Points:

George Stancl	*****	An excellent performance
Cameron Woodward	***	Better than expected but a costly fall in heat 12
Paul Bentley	****	Still rides Berwick well
Shane Parker	***	Costly engine failure and heat 6 error
James Cockle	**	Decent display
Eric Carrillo	*	A night to forget