Edinburgh Monarchs v Sheffield Tigers

A trio of double figure scorers got us through a tough match against Sheffield in which we eventually took all three points.

Ryan Fisher had his best match for a while and dropped just one point, to the excellent Auty in heat 13, while both Matthew Wethers and Aaron Summers came good in their latter rides to see us over the line.

Max Dilger scored one point in a debut that had some promise. Michal Rajkowski was somewhat off colour and Byron Bekker had to put up with being shunted into tougher heats, but still did his bit with a loan of a machine to Summers for heat 14.

We started off smoothly enough with a routine 4-2 in heat 1, then another in a twice-rerun heat 2 from which Cooper was eventually excluded after another Bekker third-bend dive, and Byron himself fell in the first and third runnings.

So Max Dilger had to wait for all that to conclude before taking his first ride as a Monarch. He made the gate too and led into the back straight, but he was never likely to hold off the hard-charging Parsons. Matthew slotted in beside Max for a while before deciding to move past and set out after Parsons. He had too much to do, and on the final turn Hall nipped up the inside to grab the point away from Dilger.

Not a bad first ride by the German though. Rajkowski then took the first rider replacement ride and led for most of heat 4, but again Auty showed his passing skills, going by Summers and then reeling in Rajkowski to take a great win off the final corner.

We were just two ahead, and that was reversed in heat 5. Dilger missed the start this time, and so did Wethers, and although Matthew tried extremely hard it was an untidy ride by him, twice almost running into Mills. We lost the 5-1 and we were needing Wethers and Summers to step it up a bit.

Fisher again swept from the start to win heat 6 but again Auty was too forceful for Rajkowski to hold off and we had to settle for a 4-2, levelling the scores.

Fisher was straight out as rider replacement and won heat 7, with Bekker getting a dreadful start before making up ground to finish close behind Parsons.

We had shifted Summers into heat 8 alongside Rajkowski and were looking for an advantage, but it didn?t come because Mills gated and held the lead in spite of a strong challenge from Summers.

Wethers won heat 9 with Dilger tailed off, and more disappointingly Rajkowski was at the back as Fisher won heat 10. The scores were still level and we were missing chances.

Heat 11 was pulled back for an unsatisfactory start as Summers led the way, and he did it again with an outside swoop in the rerun, joined by Wethers for a 5-1 at last.

Dilger was allowed a fourth ride in heat 12 with Summers replacing Bekker for the third time, and it paid off. Summers forced his way to the front again and Dilger rode steadily to beat Skidmore, his first point and an important one.

It was still close though and the Tigers? pair made the gate in heat 13. Fisher looked purposeful and swept round Ashworth, then chased Auty hard but unsuccessfully. Bekker took his third ride and fell on the final bend.

Heat 14 was eventful. Hall led for the first two laps but on the pits corner of lap 2, Cooper (surprisingly left in the race) crashed and dislodged the fence. He battled to get off the track but the fence was tilted inwards, and the rules insist that the race had to be rerun.

This time Wethers made the gate, and Hall fell to gift Summers (on Bekker?s bike) a paid win.

We were 8 ahead going in to the last race. Parsons, ever-competitive, forced ahead on the opening lap but again Fisher was not going to be denied. He went round Parsons on the first bend of lap 2.

Now it was over to Wethers, challenging Parsons but with Auty buzzing round his back wheel. If Fisher?s pass had been good, Matthew did even better with a wide move and angled cutback to get inside Parsons.

A fine finish to an enjoyable match, even though we are obviously well short of the strength we have become used to over the past couple of seasons.

HERMISTON MONARCH OF THE MATCH: Ryan Fisher.

Edinburgh Monarchs v Sheffield Tigers

The Scotwaste Monarchs begin a new era this Friday with the visit of high flying Sheffield Tigers in Premier League action.

Talented Swede Thomas H Jonasson has left these shores, to be replaced by our first ever German, teenager Max Dilger. The youngster?s UK debut has twice been thwarted by dodgy weather so let?s hope it?s a case of third time lucky! It?s fair to say he?s facing something of a baptism of fire after teammate Andrew Tully joined the long term injured list on Monday night at Wolverhampton. The resulting broken pelvis not only means it?s almost certainly the end of his season but also puts added pressure on the rest of the side as the rider replacement facility kicks in yet again.

Tully?s injury definitely could not have come at a worse time for both man and team. The recent awful weather has left the Monarchs facing something of a fixture logjam and it would seem imperative that a new rider is brought into the club as soon as possible.

Friday sees the first of 3 fixtures in 3 days for the Scotwaste Monarchs as Sheffield, Berwick and Glasgow will get the opportunity to test out any weaknesses in our ranks over the course of the weekend. A win at home is vital, although anything picked up on the road against our near neighbours will probably be looked upon as a bonus.

The issue of the new August green sheet averages sees no change in the structure of the side. American Ryan Fisher retains his place at number 1, as he has for the whole season to date and, given the departure of Jonasson coupled with Tully?s untimely injury, it seems inconceivable he?ll lose that position between now and the end of October.

At the other end of the line-up, young Aussie Aaron Summers will be looking to continue his fine home form in the reserve berth. With a maximum of 7 rides available, it?s always hugely comforting to have such a strong weapon in the locker when the scores are close!

As for Sheffield, well this is their third visit to sunny Armadale in 2009. The two previous encounters certainly couldn?t have been any more different! While the Premier Trophy clash was outstanding viewing, the same cannot be said about the KO Cup fixture in May, which was yet another of those rain affected evenings that have occurred all the often for everyone?s liking. It?s got to the stage where I?m actually scared to check the weather forecast nowadays!

Skipper Ricky Ashworth missed the Tigers? narrow defeat at Stoke last weekend but returns to lead the side in this one. He?ll be hoping for better luck than on the last occasion when he failed to score. That doesn?t happen very often where he?s concerned, so don?t expect a repeat performance!

Probably the greatest strength of this current Tigers? outfit is the all round capabilities of every rider in the side. Each and every one of them is more than capable of winning a race at any given moment and there?s no reason as to why it should be any different this time. Young Joshua Auty has top scored on both visits this season and has looked very impressive in the process. He?ll be hard pushed to do the same again from the difficult number 5 berth but I certainly won?t complain if he does as he?s in my fantasy league team!

In the past, the likes of Richard Hall and Paul Cooper have struggled around the tight confines of the Scotwaste Arena but even Cooper looked like something resembling a speedway rider a few months ago. Like Aaron Summers, Cooper is also eligible for 7 rides and it will be interesting to see where his team manager chooses to utilise his services.

His fellow reserve is Australian teenager Hugh Skidmore. I had read a wee bit about him before he came over here and managed to see him in second half action at plush Owlerton in June and I have to say I liked what I saw. If he takes to our track in any way, we could be in a spot of bother!

Whatever happens, let?s hope for an enjoyable evening and, as always, may the best team win...

Line-ups:

Monarchs: Ryan Fisher, Michal Rajkowski, Max Dilger, Matthew Wethers, rider replacement for Andrew Tully, Aaron Summers, Byron Bekker.

Tigers: Ricky Ashworth, Chris Mills, Joel Parsons, Richard Hall, Joshua Auty, Hugh Skidmore, Paul Cooper.