The Bandits pushed the Racers all the way to a last heat decider, but just missed out on three valuable away points when they failed to gain the heat advantage necessary to secure the win.
Reading, currently sitting in a top six position in the tabl
e, looked the more comfortable side in the opening stages, and despite the efforts of the superb Adrian Rymel, had established a 12-point lead after ten heats.
Rymel, riding as a tactical double-pointer in 11, and in-form reserve Paul Clews then reduced the deficit to five when they secured an 8-1 heat advantage.
Heat 12 was shared, but 13 also looked like being a 5-1 to the Bandits, until Chris Mills brought down Norbert Magosi and was excluded. In the re-run Mark Lemon took advantage to inflict the only defeat of the night on Rymel.
But in 14 Bandits did take maximum points through Magosi and Tero Aarnio, and that moved the score on to a nerve-tingling 44-43 with only one race remaining.
In a highly charged finale, Rymel battled his way out of a tight opening bend to lead and win in the fastest time around Reading's Smallmead Stadium of 2008, but Michal Makovsky couldn't match the efforts of his skipper and force his way through and was blocked at the back where he remained, giving the league win and two league points on the night to the Racers.
After the meeting promoter Peter Waite said:
"We went into the meeting with only six riders as Tony Atkin, after a fall at Shielfield on Saturday, was not 100 per cent.
"Norbert (Magosi) took a knock in his opening ride which hampered him, but Adrian (Rymel) and Clewsey (Paul Clews) were magnificent and we pushed Reading all the way.
"It was just such a shame we couldn't go that little bit extra to turn this narrow defeat into a win, because on the night I thought we deserved it."
Reading - Doyle 13, Lemon 9+3, Madsen 9+1, Mills 7, Glanz 4+2, Smith 3, Suchanek 2+1. Berwick - Rymel 17, Clews 13+1, Makovsky 7+2, Aarnio 7+2, Magosi 1+1, Smith 1.
