Edinburgh Monarchs v Edinburgh Monarchs

Level after heat 8, Monarchs rode well in the second half of this fixture to build up a 12-point lead to take to Rye House.

There were a number of points thrown away, with Jozsef Tabaka falling awkwardly twice when in scoring positions, British Finalist Andrew Tully spinning off in his first ride and Matthew Wethers taking a surprising fall when third in the final heat.

However most would have taken the dozen of a lead at the half way stage.

We had started with a 5-1 from Fisher and Tabaka, who comfortably headed Neath with Ekberg off the pace.

Kurt Shields though rode an excellent first Armadale race to share heat 2, Monarchs being pretty happy to see 16 year old Kyle Howarth defeat the more experienced Gary Beaton.

Jordan Frampton maintained recent fine form by winning heat 3, though this was a very impressive effort by rider replacement Tabaka. He really pressed and looked as though he might have snatched a win.

Sundstrom easily won heat 4 though with Andrew Tully falling on the first bend. He tried to make up the lost ground against Beaton but could not manage it.

Katajisto was entertaining in heat 5, bursting past the Rockets? riders, but Neath recovered and re-passed for the win.

Sundstrom accomplished the not inconsiderable feat of pulling clear of Fisher in heat 6, and Tabaka lost a point when he lost control leaving the fourth corner of lap two. He reared and wobbled wildly, regained control but then fell on the next bend.

Tully flew to a win in heat 7, our first since heat 1, but it seemed Bowen and Frampton were quite happy to share the race and keep Howarth at the back.

Tabaka again ran into to trouble in an eventful heat 8. It looked like a heat we could profit from but it was Ekberg who took the lead.

Katajisto swept round him in great style, but rather than settle for a point, Tabaka tried the same thing and came tom grief as his bike threw him again.

The race was awarded and we had no lead at all at that point.

With Tully in as r/r, at last we got the better of Sundstrom. He gated, but Andrew went round him and Matthew up the inside in one of these scissor moves they are so good at.

On the next bend Sundstrom two-wheeled in and rammed Matthew, who fell heavily.

It was a nasty moment but the captain emerged on Katajisto?s bike to clinch a maximum advantage.

Frampton fell on the first bend of heat 10, apparently on his own, but for some reason all four were allowed back. Fisher won the rerun with Katajisto third.

Heat 11 was certainly the surprise of the night. Howarth gated and pushed Ekberg wide as tully came alongside. For a couple of laps Andrew sat with the youngster till he decided to kick on ? but Kyle kept it going and led Neath to the flag!

He got a great reception for that, and Monarchs were now 10 up. Katajisto beat Frampton in the next one with Matthew third, back on his own bike.

Could we push on from the 12-point lead? Well not in the next one. Neath and Fisher hit the tapes but rather than select a culprit all four were invited back. Sundstom again was exceptional in winning comfortably, and this time Tully was stuck at the back as Rockets pulled two points back.

Kalle came in to heat 14. Bowen clearly hit the tapes, but the start was allowed as our pair raced ahead for a 5-1. As last week, Kalle was finishing in real style and that made his total 16!

Frampton jumped the start of heat 15 and caught the tapes in his helmet. This time the referee did take action and he started 15 metres back. Again Sundstrom proved the star of the night by leading all the way, and Wethers surprisingly came down when he misjudged a turn, throwing a point away.

Kyle Howarth was given the Hermiston Monarch of the Match bubbly.

Edinburgh Monarchs v Rye House Rockets

It's cheerio meantime to the Premier Trophy and Premier League as the team embarks on its Knockout Cup campaign this weekend. The draw has pitched us against the Rye House Rockets, a team which has an impressive record at Armadale and rarely has problems recording big wins at home.

Tonight's first leg at the Dale comes at a time when we are without the services of Kevin Wolbert and Max Dilger. Kevin had to have an operation on his back this week to drain the fluid which had built up causing him a lot of pain and discomfort. The original accident which caused the trouble occurred in our ill-fated match against Glasgow which reduced Kevin to a virtual passenger for the rest of that match. He is likley to be out for a couple of weeks at least and, unfortunately, Rider Replacement does not cover adequately for his absence. Max returns to Britain on Tuesday and will be back in the team for next Wednesday's match at Birmingham.

A lot of pressure will be on the rest of the riders as a consequence and it's just as well that Andrew Tully is running into his best form as witnessed by qualifying for the British Championship Final last night in the curtailed semi-final at Sheffield. Kalle Katajisto too is on the crest of a wave having sorted out two top class engines for Armadale. He will play a big part in the weekend matches. Young Kyle Howath who is only 16 years old and rides for Bournemouth in the National League has not ridden at Armadale before and we have to hope that he can adapt quickly to the track. He knows the Hoddesdon track well enough having scored six points there in an under-21 championship round there. Kyle rode at Sheffield last night too scoring 2 points and beating no less a rider than Andre Compton in his first race.

Hopefully we have enough strength to build a lead to take to Rye House on Saturday night but, if so, will we have enough? It's a big ask and, looking at Rye House's home strength it doesn't look look like a good bet. The Rockets have lost the services of their outstanding young reserve, Kyle Hughes, who injured his foot in a clash with Michal Makovsky in the Rockets' home match against Berwick last Monday. For the Armadale leg they have Gary Beaton deputising at number 7.

The Rockets are a well balanced side with tremendous strength in depth particularly at home which will make the match at Hoddesdon such a tough one for us. They even saw off the ultra-strong Birmingham side inflicting the Brummies only defeat of the season there. They must be delighted with the current form of Jordan Frampton who was unbeaten in his three rides last night at Sheffield and goes through to the final as the top qualifier along with Scott Nicholls. In truth though all of the Rockets are capable of scoring well and they won't be put off by Armadale's tight bends since their own track has similar characteristics. Away from home they have been more impressive than many thought they would as witnessed by their win at Somerset which was instrumental in them winning the Southern Group of the Premier Trophy from King's Lynn.

The Knockout Cup matches this year are free of gimmicks such as Tactical Rides and Tactical Gates. They are simple score contests; the winner takes all - as it should be. It's a tough ask to qualify but we hope the riders can make decent starts and put in the fight and effort which has brought us so much success in head-to-head matches in the last two years.

Team line-ups. Edinburgh: Ryan Fisher, Jozsef Tabaka, Rider Replacement for Kevin Wolbert, Matthew Wethers, Andrew Tully, Kyle Howath, Kalle Katajisto

Rye House: Chris Neath, Stefan Ekberg, Jordan Frampton, Luke Bowen, Linus Sundstrom, Kurt Shields, Gary Beaton