A devilishly good win
Armadale fend off Bullets to claim home victory
The Armadale Devils made a winning home return to the sport with a 48-42 triumph over Berwick Bullets in their first home fixture following a 15-year hiatus.
The National League Development clash also marked the return of competitive team speedway to Armadale Stadium – the first such fixture since October 2019.
George Rothery was the star of the show for the hosts with 15 points from his six rides. A fall on the final turn of the first lap in heat 12 denied him a perfect evening.
He showed tremendous potential on the notoriously challenging Armadale track. In consecutive heats, seven and eight, he overtook opposing riders early and was able to comfortably hold off any challenge.
Skipper Nathan Greaves tallied 13 points, while Tom Woolley added 11 for the Devils. Leon Flint was the pick of the visiting riders with 13 as the Bullets were able to grab a losing bonus point.
After two shared heats, the hosts took the lead as Woolley and Lewis Millar tallied a 5-1 after both Greg Blair and Ben Rathbone encountered problems for Berwick – with the latter not completing the heat.
The hosts led the rest of the way, but they were never able to truly build up a comfortable advantage as the Bullets refused to give in.
The away side were able to cut the lead to four after taking a 4-2 in heat nine following a collision between Woolley and team-mate Lewis Millar.
Woolley was at least able to limit the damage with a comfortable second place.
Another collision in the following heat – between Greaves and Rathbone – resulted in a similar situation in the Devils’ favour this time as the skipper and Sheldon Davies grabbed a 4-2 heat advantage to immediately give the home side some breathing space.
Three consecutive 3-3s were highlighted by a tremendous tussle in heat 13 as Greaves trailed Flint all race before overtaking his counterpart on the final bend.
Rothery’s fifth win of the evening in the penultimate heat made sure of the Devils’ victory but Berwick were able to ensure a point with a heat 15 win.
A delighted Greaves commented: “It was a shame we couldn’t win the last heat to stop Berwick getting a point and in the first race a bit of dirt got into my carburettor which probably cost us a point.
“Everyone has been brilliant to get our first win and George was incredible. Arguably you could say he won the match for us.
“I said to our manager that if everyone keeps building and going forward then we’ll have a good season and that’s what we’ve seen.”
As for his own performance, he added: “I think that’s the best I’ve rode this track. I’m starting to get dialled in now I’ve rode it a couple of weeks in a row.
“It was a shame about the first ride, but definitely on the positive side I think it was the best I’ve ever ridden here and hopefully I can keep building on that. “It’s great to be out there on a bike again. We all appreciate it more now because I think a lot of us in the sport were maybe taking it all for granted before last year. I’m grateful to be with Armadale and riding my bike.”