28 times Mildenhall had gone to the iconic Shielfield Park home of Berwick Speedway; and 28 times they’d been defeated.. Until this Saturday (10/6) when an epic performance saw one of the sport’s longest running hoodoos broken and courtesy of a 46-43 win, the DJS Fen Tigers – proudly sponsored by Manchetts Rescue and Recovery – soared back to the top of the National Development League [NDL].
As with the meeting of the two rivals at West Row in April this one went to a last heat decider: the visitors going into heat 15 trailing by a single point. Step forward skipper Lee Complin and number one, Alfie Bowtell to deliver, in the perfect denouncement, a maximum 5-1 taking all match points available - including a first aggregate bonus point of this campaign. And with an extraordinary TEN race winners (a record for a visiting side since Berwick entered the NDL) there really cannot be any doubt that Jason Gardner’s charges deserved to take the spoils.
Leading from the front was the titanic Tyke, Complin with a peerless 15 points maximum – including an extraordinary second ride where he made light of a 15 metres handicap enforced due to a starting offence, taking just two and a half laps to force his way to the front.
Bowtell provided brilliant back-up to his skipper scoring paid 14 and the partnership of the two to take 5-1s in heats 13 & 15 ultimately clinched the match in a very close run affair.
The other race winners on a memorable evening for the Fen Tigers were Josh Warren (whose evening was to finish prematurely after a big off in heat eight), Arran Butcher (whose heroics in that same crucial heat to put the Fen Tigers back in the lead was a vital moment in the match) and young Ben Trigger, beating the Bullets’ vastly experienced number one Danny Phillips when the going was getting really hot in heat 10.
The only black spots on a near perfect trip to the Borders for the rampant visitors was the injury sustained by Warren, confirmed as a damaged wrist and shoulder (though nothing broken) and concussion and a blown engine for the unlucky William Richardson.
Next up for the DJS Fen Tigers is a hugely important match at Mildenhall Stadium on Sunday 18th. June when the visitors are NDL newcomers Workington Comets. The trip to Cumbria was Mildenhall’s previous success on the road, a week before the glory in the Borders, and so the league-leading Fen men go into Sunday’s match against the third-placed Comets with a 49-41 lead in the battle for the aggregate point.
Berwick Bullets 43 {84}
Danny Phillips 2, 1', 2, 1 6+1
Ben Rathbone 0, 2, 2 4
Connor Coles 3, 3, 2, 3, 0 11
Jamie Halder 1, 1, 1', 3 6+1
Greg Blair 0, 3, 2, R, 1 6
Mickie Simpson 1', 0, 0 1+1
Mason Watson 2, 2, F, 1', 2', 2' 9+3
Mildenhall DJS Fen Tigers 46 {95}
Alfie Bowtell 3, 2, 3, 2', 2' 12+2
Arran Butcher 1, 0, 3, 1 5
Ben Trigger 0, 2, 3, 1 6
George Congreve 2, 1', 0, 1 4+1
Lee Complin 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 15 [M]
William Richardson 0, EF, F0, 0 0
Josh Warren 3, 1, FX (w/d – inj.) 4
Heat details
1 Bowtell, Phillips, Butcher, Rathbone [2-4]
2 Warren, Watson, Simpson, Richardson [5-7]
3 Coles, Congreve, Halder, Trigger [9-9]
4 Complin, Watson, Warren, Blair [11-13]
5 Coles, Bowtell, Halder, Butcher [15-15]
6 (rerun twice) Complin (tapes offence - 15m), Rathbone, Phillips, Richardson (EF) [18-18]
7 Blair, Trigger, Congreve, Simpson [21-21]
8 (rerun) Butcher, Rathbone, Watson (fell), Warren (fell exc.) [23-24]
9 (stpd – awarded) Complin, Coles, Halder, Richardson (fell exc.) [26-27]
10 Trigger, Phillips, Watson, Congreve [29-30]
11 Bowtell, Blair, Butcher, Simpson [31-3
12 Coles, Watson, Trigger, Richardson [36-35]
13 (rerun) Complin, Bowtell, Phillips. Blair [37-40]
14 Halder, Watson, Congreve, Richardson [42-41]
15 Complin, Bowtell, Blair, Coles [43-46]