Solid show and a hard fought win

A strong start and a strong finish did the trick tonight for the Stellar Monarchs who ran out 51-39 winners taking the two match points and the aggregate bonus. There was definitely a spell mid-match when it looked as though it was Berwick who were building up momentum and who might have taken something from the fixture.

Bandits' Peter Kildemand and Drew Kemp took 7 race wins in total and for a while seemed to have a stranglehold on the match.

Team manager Alex Harkess is never happier than when all three points are safe before the start of heat 15, and he had great praise for Justin Sedgmen who really stepped up tonight when needed. He said "It's a bonus to have everything settled with a race to go and the crucial race was heat 12 when Berwick used their tactical substitute. Justin knew how important it was and he got the race win, it was absolutely vital.

"Then he won the last heat as well to cap a great night for him personally – and his mum was here to see it! The whole team were very solid but we needed to stop their tactical in heat 12."

There was a curious start to the night with a first heat tapes incident, in which Nick Morris moved forward and Palovaara's helmet caught the rising tapes. Initially Palovaara's red exclusion light came on but scrutiny of the livestream film showed clearly that Morris had nicked the tapes first and the referee eventually agreed.

Morris took a 15 metre handicap ride but it was an easy 5-1 start followed by two 4-2 advantages, wins for Jonatan Grahn and then a good ride by Kye Thomson to pass Jonas Jeppesen in heat 3.

Then we saw Kildemand for the first time. Even though Michael Palm Toft made the quicker start he found his Danish opponent streaking past down the back straight, something Kildemand was able to repeat in most of his heats – not necessarily fastest away but strong on the opening bends and back straight.

Monarchs took another 5-1 from Sedgmen and Thomson in heat 5 though, as comeback man Nick Morris was taking a while to get going. Kildemand won a rerun heat 6 (Castagna had been leading until Dayle Wood came off at the back) so with a 10-point lead Monarchs must have felt they were cruising to victory.

The next two heats changed the picture. Kemp had had a poor first ride but raced away with heat 7 backed by Jeppesen and well clear of Palm Toft and Grahn. Heat 8 was even more of a shock for the home side as they must have been confident that Castagna and Grahn would be too much for the lesser lights Hagon and Smith – only for British Under-21 Champ Sam Hagon to race away from the Monarchs' captain with Jack Smith ahead of Grahn.

Kildemand and Kemp won the next two heats to maintain the dominance they had at this stage, but Palm Toft and Grahn then redeemed themselves with a 5-1 over Nick Morris.

That allowed a tac sub ride for Kildemand along with Jeppesen in heat 12, and with Monarchs' Achilles heel heats of 13 and 15 coming up, visiting manager Stewart Dickson must have smelt blood.

That was when the home fans saw the best of Sedgmen who gated and held off Bandits' two Danes for a truly vital win.

There was still plenty to be fought for, but the possibility of Morris making an impact in heat 13 off the inside gate was removed when it was ruled he had pulled back from the tapes and therefore exceeded the time allowance. Rules are rules and the referee must apply them but it seemed harsh and removed the possibility of an exciting race. Kildemand won it but got no support from Morris's reserve replacement.

That left Monarchs needing to share heat 14 to ensure that they won the aggregate bonus as well as the match, and that they did behind Drew Kemp.

The final heat was for pride only but it was a bonus for the home fans. Sedgmen again raced from the traps and although Kemp was second for a while, he made an error and Kye Thomson concluded a fine night for himself with a paid win behind Sedgmen.

Monarchs consolidated their third place in the Championship table with this win, putting them five points ahead of Scunthorpe with the same matches raced. Berwick can take heart from some of their performances and when Morris is back in the groove they will be a strong side – but will it be too late?