Edinburgh Monarchs v Glasgow Tigers

The final Premier Trophy match may not have affected our position but no match against Glasgow will ever be taken lightly.

We took the lead with two opening 4-2 advantages but after that it took a long time to build a winning lead, partly thanks to some rather silly falls.

In the end the hero was Michal Rajkowski and he was given a big reception after winning the final three races.

Ryan Fisher had an up and down night which started with a fine read to head Shane Parker in the fastest time of the season. Matthew in his new slot at no. 2 took the point but he wasn?t close to the leaders.

Aaron Summers started his spell at reserve with a big win, and Sean Stoddart provided the point a few yards ahead of National Leaguer Ben Hopwood.

Heat 3 was an Armadale debut for new Tiger Robin Tornqvist. Rajkowski led all the way with Tornqvist in second pursued by slow-starting Andrew Tully. The Swede was not going quickly and was riding inwards down the straights, causing Tully a problem as he tried to pass. Eventually he did. Clipping Tornqvist?s wheel, only for Tully to tumble at the next bend!

That was an obvious chance to extend the lead spurned. McGowan won a shared heat 4, and Parker passed Rajkowski to take heat 5. It looked like we would add to our 4-point advantage in heat 6 as Fisher led McGowan, but he made a horrible error on the road bend to let the Elite Leaguer through.

A few riders were having problems with the grippier track, home riders as much as visitors.

Josh Grajczonek seemed to be on the move as the tapes rose in heat 7 and he went ahead. With Tully chasing, Josh locked up and almost stopped on the pits bend. Tully did well to quickly stop and swerve, and finished up on the centre. The race had to be stopped with Grajczonek excluded, an obvious decision in spite of the protests of Stewart Dickson.

We managed to get things right with a 5-1 in the rerun, followed by a 4-2 in heat 8 won by Wethers from Grajczonek.

That allowed a TR for McGowan in heat 9 and he led all the way for 6 points. Andrew Tully made things worse by falling and turning the heat into a 2-7, our lead now just being just 5 points.

Grajczonek got between race winner Fisher and Wethers in heat 10, and once again we were throwing points away in heat 11. Summers led for much of the heat, eventually passed by a smooth move from Parker, and Ryan Fisher managed to come to grief to gift a point to Adam McKinna.

The score at this point was 37-32 and with heats 13 and 15 featuring the top two Tigers, anything was possible.

Summers and Tully rode with caution in heat 12, well clear of Tornqvist and Davey, to ensure there were no slip-ups as we took a 5-1 to go 9 ahead.

Rajkowski was the rider replacement in heat 13, and he whizzed to the front ? and this time stayed there. Meanwhile Fisher punched his way between the Tigers on the pits corner, relegating Parker to the rear, and on the last corner he just failed with a bold bid to pass round the outside.

We were now safe for the win with that unexpected 4-2, and made sure of all the points as Rajkowski won heat 14. Summers was third, unable to catch Davey.

We put out our double figure men Rajkowski and Summers in the last race and Michal made it a memorable hat-trick with another thrilling win. Even though pressurised by McGowan, and lifting on the pits bend, he sped on undaunted and earned the huge applause he was given after the heat.

HERMISTON MONARCH OF THE MATCH: Michal Rajkowski.

Edinburgh Monarchs v Glasgow Tigers

t's time for another visit from our friends from the west as Glasgow visit the Dale this time for a Premier Trophy match. There's little at stake for the Monarchs who have already won the group but the Tigers need at least a draw to keep their hopes of qualification from the group stage

We've come to expect 'unusual' sides tracked by the Tigers in their visits to Armadale and this match is no different. From the Spring Trophy match opener only Shane Parker, Josh Grajczonek and Mitchell Davey are survivors in Friday night's match. Glasgow use Rider Replacement for Ross Brady at number 2 and have their new signing, Robin Tornqvist, making his Armadale debut at number 3.

Travis McGowan guests for the injured James Grieves at number 5 and the reserve at number 7 has yet to be announced. However Glasgow are restricted to tracking a National league rider to replace Lee Smart who in turn replaced Anders Andersen.

Unlike Glasgow, Edinburgh having completed 12 counting fixtures for new averages and find them applying from Friday's match. Consequently the team has had to be reshuffled as Michal Rajkowski completes a scintillating spell at reserve which has gone a long way to contributing to the team's success so far particularly when some of the side have yet to show top form this season.

Ryan Fisher stays at number 1 but the captain, Matthew Wethers, moves to the number 2 spot as his partner. Andrew Tully moves from 4 to 3 with Michal Rajkowski moving into the main body of the team at no. 4 to replace him. Thomas H Jonasson moves (notionally) to number 5 and Aaron Summers drops to reserve at number 6 to partner Sean Stoddart. Thomas was scheduled to miss tonight's match due to his Grand Prix commitments (he is a reserve for the Swedish Grand Prix in Sweden on Saturday). But he would likely have had to miss the match anyway after his high speed crash in a league match in Sweden on Tuesday night which caused him to miss the match at Sheffield on Thursday night.

Well those are the sides but who will benefit most from the changes? Glasgow must take a draw at least from this match. The two points from that result would take them level with Workington on 21 points but with a superior points difference. It would also put them three clear of Berwick again with a better points difference leaving The Bandits needing all three points in their last match in the group stage at home to Sheffield. The Bandits would also need to win by more than 18 points to beat Glasgow on points difference in that scenario. Three points for Glasgow with a win on Friday night would ensure that Glasgow finish as runners up to the Monarchs while a defeat would ensure their elimination.

There's no doubt where the main Glasgow threat will come from ? Shane Parker and Travis McGowan. Both will need big double figure scores if the Tigers are to succeed. Josh Grajczonek and Mitchell Davey have yet to show any great liking for the track at Armadale while Robin Tornqvist has no experience of the track at all. With a National League guest at number 7 Glasgow can't expect too much from whoever fills the position.

Edinburgh will be looking for solid scores from the top four. Ryan seems to have lost his gating touch and that has been reflected in reduced scoring. Matthew has yet to burst into the form he showed last season but, on the other hand, Andrew has emerged as one of our top two round the Dale while Aaron, too, has the track well sussed out and will be disappointed to find himself back at reserve. He'll be looking for some big scores to battle his way back into the team proper. Sean's form continues to be variable but, although he finds points hard to come by away from home, he has consistently scored above his average at home.

It should be an interesting match for all sorts of reasons. Can Shane Parker go through the card? Can Travis McGowan find the blistering form he showed a few years ago at the Dale when he scored 18 from six rides? Can the two young Australians finally get to grips with the track? How good is Robin Tornqvist? Can he handle tight tracks? How will Michal Rajkowski fare now that he's out of the reserve berth and in the team proper? Can Ryan and Matthew get back to their best? Can Glasgow really get close after so many failed attempts? We'll know the answers around 9.00pm on Friday night!

As always may the better team win with the hope that all riders come through the match unscathed.

Teams: Edinburgh: Ryan Fisher, Matthew Wethers, Andrew Tully, Michal Rajkowski, R/R (Thomas H Jonasson, Aaron Summers and Sean Stoddart.

Glasgow: Shane Parker, R/R (Ross Brady), Robin Tornqvist, Josh Grajczonek, Travis McGowan (Guest), Mitchell Davey, To be confirmed.