Edinburgh Monarchs v Glasgow Tigers

A confident performance saw us overcome three early falls to record a comfortable home win in our final home Premier Trophy match.

Now we have two away fixtures to race in the competition, the minimum aim being to keep our points difference well in credit and ahead of Workington?s. At the moment we are on +68, Comets on -8 (the other sides are not in contention) but that can change. Workington have two home matches remaining.

For the second week running Monarchs came up against a visiting no. 1 in superb form. Where Nermark left off last week, Parker took over this with a vintage display, gating as well as he ever has at Armadale and also looking extremely quick. However unlike Nermark last week, Parker didn?t quite manage a maximum.

The match got off to a bad start as the four riders in heat 1 reached the first corner together. There wasn't enough room for everyone to make it round the turn, and the unlucky man was Ross Brady who high-sided and clattered the fence hard.

Not surprisingly as he was just back from a broken collar bone, that was Ross for the night.

Parker won the rerun of heat 1 easily to set the tone. In heat 2 Aaron Summers rode a beauty of a second bend to shoot through to the front, but Andrew Tully fell for the fourth week running in this heat trying to pass the Tigers? pair.

Rider replacement was operating for Thomas Jonasson again and there is no doubt it has been beneficial. Derek Sneddon took the first ride once more and gated ahead, with William Lawson slotting comfortably into second to complete a 5-1 and put Monarchs ahead.

Matthew Wethers used turn 2 of heat 4 to good effect to pass the faster gating Robert Ksiezak, but this time Aaron Summers came down to ensure another shared heat.

As last week we used Fisher in the second r/r position, but again Parker was too quick. It was Lawson who tried to close the gap but Parker was pretty comfortable again.

Ryan was out again in the next one, and this time pretty happy to slot inside Derek for a 5-1 to double the lead.

Wethers took Leverington impressively on the opening lap of heat 7, and Tully passed Davey again. Andrew then made a move to dive inside Trent entering the third turn of lap two, but he lost control and fell. Trent did well to swerve inside and not clip Andrew.

Thoughts turn to a possible TS for Parker in heat 8, but Tigers decided to leave him for the TR option, probably because they lacked anyone else to cover that. So it was their two reserves for heat 8, and Monarchs took another 5-1 from Sneddon and Summers. They had to work hard to keep Dicken at bay, and Aaron lifted a couple of times during the heat.

Robert Ksiezak tried hard to match Wethers and Lawson on the opening lap of heat 9, but the effort carried him across the pits turn. He hit the fence and came down, then remounted and retired with Monarchs grabbing their fourth 5-1.

Heat 10 was an excellent race. Leverington gated from Sneddon, and Fisher again missed the start but pushed his way past his partner.

He then moved up on Trent?s back wheel and started looking for the passing line. Eventually he found it at the end of lap three cutting back to lead into the last lap, and secured an excellent win.

Now it was TR time, heat 11 as last week, and although Matthew tried a run off the second bend he was just short of Parker at the third turn, and that was that.

After his two falls Tully settled for a steady third after passing Dicken.

William Lawson won the final r/r ride in heat 12 (paid 11 as last week from Thomas?s rides) but this time Aaron couldn?t pass the Tigers? pair.

Parker was soon in control of heat 13 but it was interesting for a lap for the minor places. With Wethers coming alongside Ksiezak down the back straight, Ksiezak made a fairly desperate attempt to push Wethers wide on the pits corner.

Matthew was on a very wide line indeed but he completed the move in style, just as Fisher came up the inside to push Ksiezak to the back.

The match was now absolutely safe, but we need to keep our points difference up so a heat 14 5-1 was welcome. Lawson took the win comfortably and Andrew Tully won a good battle with Dicken to take the paid win.

Heat 15 was the best of the night, though it looked initially like another Parker stroll.

William Lawson was having none of it though, and chased hard. He got close once or twice, turning hard and cutting to the inside, but an overslide on the opening bend of the last lap looked to have ended his hopes. William didn?t see it that way, using the overslide to get into position for the run down the straight. On the last turn, with Parker drifting slightly too wide, Lawson hugged the line and turned his deficit into a sensational win by a couple of lengths!

It was an enjoyable night for the home support and chances of making the PT semis should be good ? though there is still hard work to be done.

HERMISTON MONARCH OF THE MATCH: William Lawson.

Edinburgh Monarchs v Glasgow Tigers

Having won their first five fixtures in 2008, Monarchs will hope to make it six in a row when the Glasgow Tigers roll into town on Friday night.

It seems like only yesterday that our friends from the West were at sunny Armadale and indeed this is already the third meeting between the two sides this season. And with the Monarchs having emerged victorious in the Spring Trophy, the Tigers will be doing their utmost to gain a quick revenge.

The opening meeting of the year saw a heavy track (plea for the week ? no rain please!) and numerous points thrown away by the home side. If they are to qualify for the Premier Trophy semi finals, it is imperative a repeat performance is avoided, as points difference could yet come into play.

As always, the main threat in the Tigers camp will be the evergreen Shane Parker. He?s perhaps not been quite as dominant as you?d expect (a somewhat dismal score of just 4 at Ashfield a fortnight ago could most certainly be described as uncharacteristic) but he?s not finished yet, and his spirit was typified when he bounced back with consecutive double figure returns last weekend.

However, while Shane is generally strong round Armadale, the same can?t be said for countryman Trent Leverington. Therefore, the visitors will be looking for backup to come from elsewhere and the most likely candidates would appear to be ex home men Ross Brady and Robert Ksiezak. Brady missed the Spring Trophy encounter with a broken collar bone (I?ll bet the Winchburgh Trapper doesn?t go skiing again in a hurry!), while Ksiezak is always difficult to pass if he makes one of his infamous gates.

At reserve, Lee Dicken somehow scored 8 from 4 on his last visit so he?ll be confident of enjoying another high return, while Josh Grajczonek will also be encouraged by his Lothian Arena debut.

The final stripe wearer is Mitchell Davey, who failed to score last time he was here and, being honest, it?s difficult to see him improving that record on this occasion (I hope it?s not too disrespectful to say that!).

In the home camp, confidence is understandably high, especially after the highly rated Workington Comets were so easily dispatched last Friday. They managed that resounding victory without the services of Swedish starlet Thomas H Jonasson, who was absent due to a back injury. At the time of writing, it is unknown as to whether the youngster will be fit but, if not, the hugely successful rider replacement will again operate.

That apart, all I can say is I hope the rest of the lads continue their current form. If they manage that, I?ll be happy (and I?m sure the rest of the Monarchs fans will be too!).

Here?s to another exciting encounter. Enjoy your speedway... and remember folks... wrap up well!

As always, may the best team win...

Line-ups:

Monarchs: Ryan Fisher, Derek Sneddon, Thomas H Jonasson (or rider replacement), William Lawson, Matthew Wethers, Andrew Tully, Aaron Summers.

Tigers: Shane Parker, Ross Brady, Trent Leverington, Mitchell Davey, Robert Ksiezak, Josh Grajczonek, Lee Dicken.