BELLE Vue rounded off their National Development League campaign with an impressive 44-46 win over Berwick at Shielfield on Saturday night.
The Cool Running Colts had been hoping to end their season on a high after just falling short of the NDL Play Offs, and they quickly set to work in doing so.
The earlier heats saw the home team take the lead initially, putting the visitors to the sword to go ahead 12 points after nine races, but it was all part of the Belle Vue plan.
Having played their lower averaging riders in Sam Hagon’s R/R rides, they looked to their ‘big three’ to finish things off with a bang in the latter stages of the night.
James Pearson and Jack Smith put in a predictably strong performance, while Freddy Hodder put in a career-best display to lead the score charts overall.
Even Ed Davison, whom the club had noted from past Experience Days, proved to be a revelation and, crucially, contributed 5+2 impressive points of his own to help seal the win.
Hodder top scored for the Cool Running Colts with 15+1, while Pearson clocked up 13+1 after the final chequered flag.
Club boss Graham Goodwin said: “We came to Shielfield with the sole purpose of finishing our season on a high and that’s exactly what the boys have delivered.
“We couldn’t be prouder of their efforts. After Heat 9, we were 12 points down and looking potentially like we might just miss out on the win on the night.
“But the team really came string in the second half of the night and we were particularly impressed with Ed Davison who, admittedly, we didn’t expect too much of.
“But we felt, given his commitment in attending our Experience Days and improving each time that he should be rewarded with a chance to ride for us, and he did very well.
“All of the boys did well. This was a real team effort to finish our year with one final win and, although we won’t make the Play Offs, we feel this has been a very successful year for us.”
The deciding leg of the Sports Insure Premiership League Play Offs comes to the National Speedway Stadium on Monday, September 25 ahead of a potential Grand Final place in October.
Meeting tickets, race day programmes and hospitality are available at bellevue-speedway.com/events. South car parking is sold out, but St. Peter’s School will be available on the day.
RESULT – BERWICK V BELLE VUE – SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 @ 7:00PM [NDL]
Berwick ‘GHT’ Bullets 44: Mason Watson 13, Danny Phillips 12, Luke Crang 10, Kieran Douglas 4+2, Senna Summers 3+1, Archie Freeman 2, Connor Coles r/r.
Belle Vue ‘Cool Running’ Colts 46: Freddy Hodder 15+1, James Pearson 13+1, Jack Smith 11+1, Ed Davison 5+2, Jack Shimelt 2, Sam Woods 0, Sam Hagon r/r.
Aggregate Score: Berwick 73-107 Belle Vue
Image: Ian Charles