Workington Comets raised their hopes of a play-off finish in the Championship with a 49-41 win at Berwick last night.
They need to finish the job by completing the double at Northside this afternoon and pocketing the valuable aggregate point.
But it was another fraught night for the Comets management with one more injury and a rider having to be withdrawn from the meeting.
Finnish star Antti Vuolas fell in his second outing and after failing to appear for his next ride was withdrawn with what appeared to be a neck injury.
Team manager James Denham will be waiting anxiously to see how he is and whether he can ride in the return leg at home.
In essence, with Vuolas missing over the second half of the meeting, the Comets did well to turn it round.
Workington were trailing by six points after eight races and up to that point had not managed a heat advantage.
An opening 5-1 by Lewis Kerr and Danyon Hume over Workington’s two guests Simon Lambert and Erik Riss (retired) did not auger well.
When the Bandits scored a 4-2 in heat three, with Vuolas coming in last, there were added concerns but six of the first eight heats were shared to keep the Bandits within sight.
Then remarkably the Comets hit back in style, earning heat advantages in six oif the seven subsequent races.
Victory was clinched in heat 14 when Claus Vissing roared clear and Paul Starke did enough to take third.
The Bandits weren’t helped by both Lewis Kerr and Drew Kemp going through the tapes at the start of heats 13 and 15.
Not for the first time this season Troy Batchelor was the Workington star with a paid maximum from his five rides, which included four wins.
Vissing had his best return for a while, coming back to form with 12, which included three wins and once again the Comets were well served by Starke at reserve with seven points and a win in the second race.
Both guests will be back this afternoon at Northside with Riss (9) and Lambert (paid 9) making solid contributions to the win at Shielfield.
The Comets are now up to fourth with a four point lead on Glasgow, but the Tigers have three matches in hand.
It is essential for the Comets to complete a quick double over the Bandits and put more pressure on Glasgow.
After today the Comets just have the one meeting to fit in, a home clash with Plymouth which should provide the Comets with another three points as they have already won in Devon against the Gladiators.
Berwick Bandits 41
Lewis Kerr 8+1; Danyon Hume 8+1; 3. Jye Etheridge 4; Drew Kemp 12; Rory Schlein R/R; Freddy Hodder 3+2; Connor Coles 6+2.
Workington Comets 49
Erik Riss 9; Simon Lambert 7+2; Antti Vuolas 0; Claus Vissing 12;Troy Batchelor 14+1; Sam McGurk 0; Paul Starke 7.
