Title Partner
After losing a 2-4 in the opening heats, Monarchs tried hard but found it impossible to close the gap.
Against a solid Fen Tigers' side, too many of the home men were below par. That did not apply, though, to captain Theo Pijper who was in brilliant form in spite of a leg injury, or to double figure reserve Derek Sneddon.
Daniele Tessari made his home debut for the team and although he only scored two points, he showed determination and some promise. He was out for several rides in the second half to improve his knowledge of Armadale.
Daniel King was a standout for Mildenhall, but their biggest virtue was solidity with even inexperienced reserve Jordan Frampton looking very useful. All their other team members scored at least paid 8.
The track was pretty slick which made gating all-important. Theo dropped his only point in heat 1 to Jason Lyons, and with Danliele gating slowly we were behind right away.
Derek rounded the field to win heat 2, but after being in contention early on Sean Stoddart finished well back. It was Frampton who provided the challenge to Sneddon in a very impressive first PL ride at Armadale.
Daniel King and Werner won the next two easily, and when Brundle and Lyons his the front in heat 5 things could have got worse. However Brundle lifted and moved into his partner's path, allowing Matthew a chance to nip past for a welcome win, though Henrik could make no headway.
Theo squeezed past the opposition down the back straight in heat 6, only for the heat to be stopped as Daniele came down. Undaunted, he did it more convincingly in the rerun, but we were still two points behind.
Heat 7 was a dismal heat from our viewpoint though as William trailed behind the Kings, and it was hard at this point to see how we would close a 6-point gap.
Derek's always up for a fight and he went ahead in heat 8, pressurised by King. It was close all the way with King trying an outside sweep on the final bend, only to find Derek moving into his path. King hit the fence but kept going for second, with the referee's attention probably diverted by Frampton's fall at the back which necessitated the red lights going on.
With Daniele in third we had closed the gap, and two heats later he assisted in another 4-2, duelling with the Kings while Theo led the way.
We were 2 down again but we needed something from William. He switched machines, made a start - and led home Jason Lyons!
The gap remained, and we trailed heat 12 behind Daniel King and Brundle until Matthew went too wide on the pits bend and fell. Derek grabbed second in the rerun.
Heat 13 was a storming race, with Pijper and Lyons passing and repassing over the first two laps. Theo got the better of it, and although William's machine was belching smoke and oil he held of Werner to close that gap again.
Realistically we needed an advantage out of heat 14, and on paper that should have been possible. However Jason King gated from the inside to beat Henrik, and we were still two down going into the final heat.
Theo won it, but William was stranded off gate four, and the Fen Tigers comfortably shared the heat for a deserved victory.
HALMOND ENGINEERING MONARCH OF THE MATCH: Theo Pijper
Mildenhall may currently be found in the bottom half of the league table but they are not a team to be taken lightly. Until Stoke beat Sheffield at Owlerton 44-45 last Thursday, the Fen Tigers produced the shock of the season by winning 42-48 at Somerset.
The Monarchs have to pull back 11 points to contest the bonus point but the records show that, apart from a 19 point defeat at Redcar, Mildenhall's biggest away defeat in the Premier League was at Rye House where they lost by 13 points. So it looks a tall order but a must if our league position is to be improved.
Mildenhall have made several team changes since the season started with Shaun Tacey being replaced by Andrew Moore who in turn retired leading to the introduction of Brent Werner to the side. One other change forced upon them was the ruling that Jon Armstrong had to move into the main body of the team from reserve because of his high scoring. This did not have a serious impact on them because James Brundle, who moved the other way from being in the 1-5 to reserve, has turned in some very big scores to give them real punch at reserve.
The team is led by Jason Lyons who had a sneak preview of the Armadale track last Friday when he finished runner-up in the Scottish Open. He is backed at the top end by Daniel King who can be seen on television when Ipswich matches are shown. The American, Brent Werner, is well known to us and completes the heat leader trio. All three are a big threat although Brent Werner relies heavily on his gating to score.
In the second string berths are Jon Armstrong, who hasn't found it quite so easy now that he is no longer at reserve, and Jason King who sports an average of over 5 points. Partnering James Brundle at reserve will be Jordan Frampton, a new name at most Premier League tracks.
Edinburgh looked to be struggling to field a team for Friday's match as a result of injuries to Matthew Wethers and Theo Pijper and Henrik Moller's absence to ride in the Danish under-21 Championship but only Theo Pijper remains doubtful now that Matthew seems to have recovered and Henrik has decided to forego his championship hopes to take his place in the side.
We will need all of our resources to pull this one out of the fire particularly with our new signing, Daniele Tessari, still to get to grips with the track on his own machinery. It will be quite an achievement to win the bonus point but all things are possible in speedway. A determined effort such as we produced against Somerset at home and the Isle of Wight away might just produce the goods although if the 'Bog Moggies' find themselves ten points down they have just the men for Tactical rides.
It should be interesting and entertaining meeting from which all three points will put the team in better heart for the nigh impossible task on Saturday night away to King's Lynn.
Saturday 12th August 2006, 10:00am
Mildenhall grabbed all the points from Armadale, taking the lead in heat 1 and never losing it.
Friday 11th August 2006, 10:00am
Henrik Moller is driving from Denmark to Scotland to ensure that he lines up for the Scotwaste Monarchs against Mildenhall.
© Edinburgh Monarchs Speedway 2024
Bathgate Road
Armadale
EH48 2PD
Season 2006 | 4 years ago
