Edinburgh Monarchs v Glasgow Tigers

This was a very bad night for Edinburgh Speedway with a shocking result against their local rivals, and a dreadful, long meeting on a very heavy track.

Fans coming into the stadium were greeted with the unwelcome sight of tractors circling while fresh dirt was piled on to a wet surface. Given that the Scotwaste Monarchs had already lost to the same opposition three weeks earlier in similar though less extreme conditions, it beggared belief (whatever the meteorological circumstances) that a circuit like this should be presented.

Riders from both teams were unhappy prior to the match, but Glasgow had three riders who managed to get round apparently comfortably (two of these handily placed at reserve) while Edinburgh?s only real success was Andrew Tully, with another excellent showing.

Christian Henry was the unlucky man of the night and he really has had a terrible run of luck. Byron Bekker fell right in front of him in heat 7, and Christian came down heavily, sustaining a shoulder injury. To add to the misery of the watching fans, this resulted in a 40-minute delay while the second ambulance arrived, during which time most of the dirt which had been heaped on to the track was scraped back off again.

The first two heats were completely farcical as riders two wheeled round, both home men falling in heat 1. A deficit of 1-10 was the result and there was never any likelihood that that could be overturned, even though the pairing of Tully and Matthew Wethers did perform admirably and quickly regained some of the lost ground with a heat 3 5-1 ? another abject heat in terms of entertainment.

Heats with Tully in them were the only relief for the home fans over the first half of the match, though Monarchs did manage three successive heat winners from heat 9. Tully though fell on the first bend of heat 12 and the mini-fightback ended there.

Nick Morris was again astonishingly good, with great control and terrific boldness in all of his heats. James Grieves has shown many times that conditions never bother him and he added another fine Armadale performance to his amazing record, while former Edinburgh captain Theo Pijper piled up points with relative ease also.

Although some of the home riders have been criticized, it was not really effort which was lacking but the knowledge or ability to cope with conditions they will not have met often. For everyone?s sake it would be nice if they did not meet them again in a hurry.

Edinburgh Monarchs v Glasgow Tigers

In the words of Billy Connolly: ?It's them again, mammy!? Yes, it's the Glasgow Tigers who revisit Armadale on Friday (7.30), having finally broken a long run of home success for Edinburgh in these derby matches only three weeks ago with a six-point win and three Premier League points.

That result cost Monarchs a couple of places in the league table and helped demonstrate to the rest of the speedway world that Glasgow are a force to be reckoned with again. It's ironic that after years of Shane Parker claiming he would win the title with Glasgow, they are on course to win it now he has left.

Nick Morris was the Tigers' inspiration last time but they have seven riders this season who are all capable of winning any race, something which has been a key to Edinburgh's long run of success. So with both teams hopefully back to full strength, any one of the fourteen riders could make the difference.

From the top, Tigers No.1, Joe Screen got the drop on his opponents in the last match but lost his way at times as several riders struggled on an unfamiliar surface designed to improve the standard of the racing. His battles with Kevin Wolbert will be very keenly fought this time around.

Two former Monarchs star reserves line up in opposite sides of the pits at No.2. Edinburgh's flying Finn, Kalle Katajisto will be expected to make the most of his undoubted advantage over the popular, fast starting Polish racer who used to light up Friday nights at Armadale, Michal Rajkowski.

Hard charging Andrew Tully will also be expected to come out on top in the battle at No.3 where he faces the injury-plagued Christian Henry who must be finding it hard to gain any consistency in a season of intermittent absences. Fans of both teams will be wishing him a better run of luck.

At No.4, Monarchs skipper Matthew Wethers will be hoping to outscore his opposite number, Richard Sweetman who has taken a while to settle into the Tigers line-up. However a double figure score at Ashfield last Sunday will have boosted the 21-year-old Australian's confidence.

As ever, the in-form Craig Cook may face the biggest challenge at No.5 where he lines up opposite a rider with a new lease of life, 35-year-old James Grieves who was riding for Edinburgh 10 years ago and Glasgow 10 years before that. James and Andrew at least ensure there is a Scot in each team.

Glasgow will look to make up for any lack of points elsewhere with one of the strongest reserve pairings in the league. Nick Morris is undoubtedly destined for greater things and Theo Pijper is getting back into the swing of things after a lengthy break from speedway.

But Monarchs may have finally found a solid reserve pairing of their own to see them through their remaining matches. Kyle Howarth is looking like his old self again and his new partner Byron Bekker is obviously relishing a second chance in the blue and gold.

There's sure to be a big crowd for this one and if the match three weeks ago is anything to go by, they won't be disappointed with the standard of the speedway. With Monarchs having the home advantage, these are two well matched sides with all to play for.

Monarchs don't want to lose at home again but Glasgow want to add to their impressive tally of eight away wins from fifteen matches. No quarter will be asked or given in what will be a full-blooded Scottish speedway derby in the finest tradition. The outcome is anyone's guess.

Likely line-ups:

EDINBURGH SCOTWASTE MONARCHS: Kevin Wolbert, Kalle Katajisto, Andrew Tully, Matthew Wethers (capt.), Craig Cook, Byron Bekker, Kyle Howarth.

GLASGOW A-PLANT TIGERS: Joe Screen (capt.), Michal Rajkowski, Christian Henry, Richard Sweetman, James Grieves, Nick Morris, Theo Pijper.