Edinburgh Monarchs v Glasgow Tigers

Edinburgh needed everyone on top form for the visit of Glasgow, and it was too much to ask as they went down 41-49 to their local rivals.

What might have been had George Stancl and even Daniele Tessari been fit, is hard to say, but in adversity teams need to pull out something special.

Monarchs can?t really say they did that and Glasgow recorded their first league victory at Armadale.

Edinburgh?s first worry was whether James Cockle was going to turn up, which he eventually did a short time before the start. He didn?t seem to have had time to remove the previous night?s dirt from his machinery though.

Heat 1 showed what mood Derek Sneddon was in. He got the better of a tight first turn with Craig Watson and went ahead. Andrew Tully moved from third to go under Watson on the pits corner, but the Aussie repassed him, and at the end of a very watchable opening heat McAllan also came under Tully to share the race.

Monarchs? gamble in giving Tully the opening r/r for Stancl hadn?t quite paid off.

For the first time for a long time, there was no strong reserve in the home camp, with Katajisto gaining an average and dropping down with Tully in the top five. The young Finn again displayed a lack of gating ability and finished at the back as Cockle took second place behind Coles.

Heat 3 was much more disappointing. Parker moved clear, not waiting for Ksiezak, but even so Laukkanen could do no better than stay close without really threatening to pass.

Again it was a visitor gating fastest as Trent Leverington led heat 4, but Matthew Wethers caught him and pulled off a smooth outside pass to share the race. Cockle took his first fall on the first turn.

Laukkanen had changed bikes for heat 5, and he rocketed clear to win in the fastest time of the night. Tully though was stranded at the back again.

Kaj was out again in the next heat, and this time he rode side by side with Derek Sneddon, unchallenged by Leverington (who eventually fell) and Coles.

So we were down to a 2-point deficit. Matthew managed to split the Parker/Ksiezak pair in heat 7 but we were now 4 down, with a couple of more promising heats coming up.

Heat 8 has often been a saviour for us this year, but McAllan put a stop to that with a very quick start. Sneddon gave chase but to no avail, and Cockle took the point from Dicken.

Heat 9 was another comfortable win for Laukkanen but we needed Tully to get amongst Leverington and Coles. He looked more hesitant than usual but finally drove under Leverington and led into the pits corner as the Aussie fell.

To be honest Edinburgh might have fancied a rerun with Coles not too far ahead of Tully, but the ref excluded Trent and awarded the heat.

That was back to 2 down and we had a torrid first turn to heat 10. Derek made a decent start but Robert Ksiezak got under him and took him right to the fence round the first corner. Rider replacement Wethers was also caught up in this and it allowed Parker to turn back under everyone and go ahead. Wethers recovered to pass Ksiezak but we were back to 4 down and that gap just wouldn?t close.

McAllan, having a good match, led heat 11 but Matthew Wethers brilliantly cut under him on the pits corner for an excellent win.

The next question was whether Laukkanen could handle Parker in heat 12. The answer was no as the Glasgow rider made much the better start and raced away. Kaj was second and Cockle fell, so the gap was now 6.

Wethers and Sneddon might have taken a 5-1 from heat 13, having raced round the wide line to get ahead of Watson and Leverington. However Watson got into trouble and both the Glasgow riders came down.

Watson was excluded, but Leverington took his second chance to get ahead of Sneddon and take 2 points.

Heat 14 didn?t look good for us, and so it proved. Ksiezak won easily and Tully?s second place was not enough to take it to a last heat decider.

A good start for Laukkanen raised hopes of a consolation race win, which would have given us the majority, but the home man didn?t seem as fast as earlier and was overhauled with surprising ease by Parker.

Edinburgh Monarchs v Glasgow Tigers

It?s the meeting every Scottish speedway supporter looks forward to (or dreads!) as Edinburgh Monarchs and Glasgow Tigers go head to head at Armadale in Premier League action.

It?s fair to say the home side will probably be slight underdogs for this one, given the goings on of the last week or so.

However, I?ve decided I?m not going to dwell on that as our friends from the West will get a complex and claim we?re trying to play some bizarre kind of mind games!

So, let?s ignore the fact number two George Stancl is missing, let?s ignore the fact Derek Sneddon is just returning from injury and riding aboard strange machinery, let?s ignore the fact Kaj Laukkanen will be racing only his third home meeting in our colours, let?s ignore the fact we now don?t have either Andrew Tully or Matthew Wethers at reserve to bolster our bottom end strength, let?s ignore the fact Daniele Tessari is out for the season, let?s ignore the fact the hugely inexperienced Kalle Katajisto will now fill a vital slot within the side and, finally, let?s also ignore the fact the Tigers are at full strength and include no less than three former Monarchs and two Premier League top liners in their line-up!

Of course, it?s also a fact that Glasgow have one of the worst Armadale records and have never actually won a PL fixture here (there?s a first time for everything!). Friday certainly represents their best opportunity to break that duck and they?ll no doubt enter the fray determined to ensure they don?t slip up and get slated from all quarters!

Heading their line-up is the people?s Scottish Open Champion Shane Parker. Yes, I have to admit, I?m against this semi final and final lark, and thought Mr Parker deserved to win. Just my opinion of course and nothing to do with the fact it was a certain Mr Nermark who eventually emerged victorious...

And if Shane doesn?t command respect on the track, Craig Watson definitely should. Having returned from not one but two serious injuries in recent years, he is once again showing he can cut it quite comfortably at this level. Despite the fact Armadale has never quite been one of his favourite circuits in the past, he will never be forgotten by myself after his amazing 18 point 'guest' score at Isle of Wight in 2003.

The Tigers? strong top two means their ?bottom five? are very much of a similar level. None of them have quite made the jump to solid third heat leader status, which may have come as a slight disappointment to their management and fans. At the moment, it?s Trent Leverington who holds the number 5 race jacket. In fairness, he?s quite a distance in front of his rivals and looks set to finish the year on an average of over 6. Like Watson, he probably doesn?t see the Lothian Arena as one of his favoured tracks but he?s always trying and his efforts are well appreciated.

The remaining ?top 5? chaps are well known to us, namely Robert Ksiezak and David McAllan. We know only too well how dangerous these guys can be...

At reserve are a pair of real heavyweights (er, no pun intended, honest!) in the shape of Michael Coles and Lee Dicken. Coles is well past his best but still toddles round for a few points every week (whatever keeps him happy I suppose!) while Dicken remarkably led Ronnie Correy for a couple of laps earlier in the season. I guess that means, if he gates, he?s difficult to get past?

It?s all change in the home camp again, with Andrew Tully and Kalle Katajisto swapping places. It?s amazing how long youngster Tully has spent in the main body of the team this season and it?s a credit to him that his head hasn?t dropped when his scoring did.

Given his high home average, it?s quite obvious to see how the absence of George Stancl will adversely affect the Monarchs? chances. The good thing (if there can be one!) is that every remaining member of the side is eligible to take a ride (so we can all pencil Derek Sneddon into heat 13 when we enter the stadium!).

At the time of writing, no announcement has been made as to who will wear the number 6 race jacket but, whilst on the subject, I?d like to take this opportunity to wish Daniele Tessari all the best and a speedy recovery.

All in all, it would appear as though a gargantuan effort is required if we are to take anything from this meeting. However, stranger things have happened in speedway. I?m certainly up for a win... are you?!

As always, may the best team win...

Line-ups:

Monarchs: rider replacement for George Stancl, Derek Sneddon, Kaj Laukkanen, Andrew Tully, Matthew Wethers, A N Other, Kalle Katajisto.

Tigers: Craig Watson, David McAllan, Shane Parker, Robert Ksiezak, Trent Leverington, Michael Coles, Lee Dicken.