Tapes Up: Diamonds Have It All To Do To Retain Tyne Tweed Trophy

Thank you to George English and the Newcastle Diamonds Media team for the match report and picture. We have changed the features name to just Tapes Up, Bobby Dazzlers Tapes Up - just too long.

Berwick Bandits 54
Newcastle Diamonds 39
Tyne Tweed Trophy - 1st leg)

As the crowd filed into Shielfield Park for the Tyne Tweed Trophy first leg last night there was considerable doubt whether the match would even begin due to a blanket of thick fog that lay over the stadium obscuring everything past the mid point from the referee box view.

Miraculously with ten minutes to start time, and a cancellation on the cards, the murk lifted and Heat One got under way just after seven with Ricky Ashworth carrying on where he's left off the night before at Scunthorpe where he was unbeaten in five races by taking a good win over Diamond's skipper Mark Lemon in the Bandits' 4-2.

Richie Worrall, who is developing into one of the League's best riders in 2012 so far, took the second with ease, but the second placed points were snatched from Steve Worrall by an outside move from Alex Edberg to keep the match level 6-6.

Following a home 5-1 in Heat Three, Seb Alden found a non-existent gap to sneak between a tight riding Richie Worrall and Stuart Robson off bend two to seal his win early on in the 3-3, and the gap remained at four, 14-10.

Filip Sitera shot out to lead Heat Five, but Complin made a ghastly gate and had to force his way back into contention over the first lap and coming off the second bend shot round Lemon at an alarming rate to join his partner up front for a maximum and extend the Bandits' lead to 19-11.

With the Bandits leading 27-15 after heat seven, Newcastle's management nominated the high-riding Richie Worrall as a tactical ride for double points in the eighth, and the Diamond twin jetted away to expertly lead but from stone last Bellego shot round the outside line to pass the field and lead.

Richie Worrall fought back and took a dive under the Frenchman with the Bandit jetting off towards the fence, but avoided collision although did end up at the back again in with the tactical working well for Newcastle 1-8, tightening the match to 28-23, keeping the Diamonds in touch.

Berwick continued to stamp their home advantage hard with a 5-1 coming from Alden and a determined Edberg who shot round Lemon off bend two and held out the Australian's advances throughout to move the scores on to 39-30.

A massive win from Complin and a second for Edberg following a mammoth battle with Richie Worrall recorded another Bandits' maximum putting the match out of the Diamonds' reach with three races left 44-31.

Richie Worrall again shone bright in Heat 14, battling well to the front on the opening bends, but twin Steve also proved that his time with Newcastle is starting to bring similar high-levels of talent out in him too as he rode well to hold second ahead of the hard riding Sitera and Edberg for a Newcastle 1-5 (50-37) indicating the Diamonds could soon have two of the best reserves in the Premier League.

George English, Newcastle's team manager was equally impressed with his twin reserves saying: "We've seen Richie develop over the last 12 months, but already this season we can see the signs that Steve is starting to catch his brother up and that can only be good for the Diamonds.

"Tonight we were lacking in general fire-power, but we know our lads are capable of more and it will come, but we do have more work to do to retain this trophy this time round than we normally do, so we'll have to find the extra oomph as we don't want the Bandits' raiding party to nick this trophy now after being ours for so many seasons."

As if Devine intervention had saved the match from the fog, the gloom descended once more, and just as thick, ten minutes after the end of Heat 15 which would have rendered racing impossible.