Edinburgh Monarchs v Mildenhall Fen Tigers

Could Monarchs hit 70, and would we see the old Theo Pijper - these were the main questions to be answered when the Fen Tigers came to Armadale.

For once the Armadale weather was better on Friday than on the days before and after, and the result was very good track conditions with the riders able to ride freely.

The home side opened with three 5-1's which included a tentative ride from Theo Pijper as he was swallowed up by Sneddon and Wethers in heat 3.

Jan Graversen had a look at the track in heat 3 and then gated in heat 4. Matthew wethers passed easily enough but Aaron Summers was stuck in third, and the whitewash was avoided.

Heat 5 was the best of the night. Lee Smart and Seb Truminski gated, with Wethers soon past the Pole. It took him a could more laps to find a way through to the front, as Andrew Tully slipped past Truminski but had to settle for third.

After that it was back to the 5-1's with heats generally decided at the first bend.

Marek Mroz had a nasty tumble leaving the second bend in heat 8 when he lifted off the back of his machine, and thankfully the following riders avoided any collisions.

Heat 10 was the next point gained by the Fen Tigers. Derek Sneddon had been looking quick, but he was riding wide and Pijper caught him by using the inside line. He remembered it well enough to make sure of second behind Mark Lemon.

After a further 5-1 from the powerful Fisher-Tully pair, Theo Pijper jumped out of the gate to lead Wethers and Summers home. It should be a step along the way for Theo regaining confidence.

Mark Lemon had a machine misfire during heat 13 and dropped a point to Truminski, and then Fen Tigers tried Pijper as a TS in heat 14. Wethers and Tully were too quick for that to have a chance of success.

Finally Ryan Fisher completed his first league paid maximum and Monarchs finished with a 5-1 to top the 68 they scored against Scunthorpe.

HERMISTON MONARCH OF THE MATCH: Ryan Fisher

Edinburgh Monarchs v Mildenhall Fen Tigers

This week's visitors to Armadale are the team currently cut adrift at the bottom of the league - Mildenhall.

Anything other than a sizeable home win is unthinkable!

It?s hard to know where to begin previewing a match against opponents whom the Monarchs beat away from home by 30-60! The Fen Tigers will be hoping to improve on that result in Friday?s match and arrive with a team which contains just one survivor from the debacle at West Row last May - Jan Graversen, although they will use R/R for Michal Rajkowski.

It has been hard to keep track of the Mildenhall team this season since it has been changed on a regular basis with riders coming and going more often than passengers at the Waverley Station.

Excluding guests they have tracked no less than 14 riders in Premier League and Premier Trophy matches since the season began. In addition they have had to use a barrowload of guests on a regular basis to complete their team. This week they have Mitchell Davey (Glasgow) as a guest at reserve (presumably for Mark Baseby).

The Fen Tigers have former Berwick and Newport rider, Sebastian Truminski, at number 1. Truminski disappeared from the Premier League scene after Newport?s demise and only reappeared when the Fen Tigers signed him at the end of July. He does not appear to have ridden at Armadale before so it remains to be seen how he takes to the track. He forms a brand new opening partnership for the Fen Tigers with Lee Smart who was signed after being ?released? by Birmingham recently following a run of poor scores. Lee last appeared at Edinburgh just two weeks ago when he scored just one point from three rides.

The middle pairing is Theo Pijper and Michal Rajkowski with R/R being used for Rajkowski, former Newport and Belle Vue rider. Theo is of course no stranger to Armadale - he still holds the track record! After a bad crash at Swindon earlier in the season Theo struggled on his return to the Robins line up and was replaced. He joined the Fen Tigers in early July and will be out to show he is still a force to be reckoned with at the Dale.

The third partnership sees the promising Jan Graversen at number 5 plus the two reserves. Graversen has provided most of the few bright spots in Mildenhall?s terrible season so far. He has scored double figures at home on five occasions but his best return was away from home, at Rye House, where he ran up 12 points, including three race wins, albeit as long ago as last March. He is a fast gater and well capable of winning races. At reserve Marek Mroz looks to be a good signing too. He scored 11+2 in the Fen Tigers? defeat at the hands of Birmingham last Sunday giving the Fen Tigers hope of better things to come. Mitchell Davey, one of Glasgow?s young Australians, fills the other reserve berth as a guest. He has only ridden at Armadale twice back in March and April and has managed just one point from eight rides although to be fair he was catapulted into the Tigers? team at the difficult number 4 position at the time.

So there we have it - a team no doubt full of enthusiasm but with little real firepower to frighten any of the other teams in the league both home and away.

Edinburgh again will be without William Lawson at the start of an ultra-busy ten days of racing in both League and Premier Trophy (final) including another home match on Monday in front of the Sky TV cameras. Mark Lemon guests for the Monarchs in both league matches against Mildenhall and Workington but once again Thomas H Jonasson will be missing - for the Mildenhall match. His rides will be covered by Rider Replacement. With Thomas now second in the averages and listed at number 3 in the team all the other riders will be eligible for a R/R ride.

The line-ups will be:

Edinburgh: Mark Lemon (Guest), Derek Sneddon, Rider Replacement for Thomas H Jonasson, Matthew Wethers, Ryan Fisher, Andrew Tully, Aaron Summers.

Mildenhall: Sebastian Truminski. Lee Smart, Theo Pijper, Rider Replacement for Michal Rajkowski, Jan Graversen, Marek Mroz, Mitchell Davey (Guest).

Here's hoping for an entertaining match.