Edinburgh Monarchs v Somerset Rebels

This was a dramatic but also rather strange match as Edinburgh fought back from a 12-point deficit to steal a draw.

The Rebels with 3 guests and a rider replacement were not widely fancied, but for much of the match they looked more like the home team than the Monarchs did.

Edinburgh?s gating is often poor but in this match it plumbed the depths ? or maybe the Rebels gated like rockets. Derek Sneddon especially was terrific from the start, and he had 8 points after just 5 heats in spite of being knocked through the fence when Andrew Tully ran into him in heat 3.

James Wright opened with three wins, and the visiting reserves were hugely more effective than the home pair. Matthew Wethers was out as a TR as early as heat 5 but Derek Sneddon beat him, and by heat 8 Monarchs trailed by a depressing 19-31.

Slowly they worked their way back into contention, though foolishly they didn?t use a second TR in heat 9, presumably delaying on the assumption Wright might win again. He didn?t (indeed Wright lost momentum completely over the closing heats) and so Monarchs had lost the opportunity of extra points.

Kevin Wolbert had to produce a superb ride from the back to overcome the tremendously impressive Ashley Birks in heat 10. The deficit was now 8, and might have been cut further in the following race as Tom Perry seemed to be passing Sam Masters.

The struggling visiting no. 1 produced a pretty brutal blocking move to stop this happening, and Alex Davies then pulled off an important win over Andrew Tully to maintain the lead.

There seemed almost no chance for Edinburgh now, but Wolbert and Craig Cook dealt strongly with the Rebels? pair early in heat 13 to take a 5-1.

It seemed that Matthew Wethers needed to win heat 13, but he fell on the first lap trying to pass Davies and Birks. Amazingly, Kyle Howarth who had done nothing to that point jumped out of the start and rode a crafty four laps for a completely unexpected race win, leaving a chance for the home big guns in the final race.

They needed no second bidding; Wolbert and Cook rode four laps side by side to give Monarchs a point. Somerset deserved to win really, but Monarchs did show a great fighting spirit over the second half of the match.

Edinburgh Monarchs v Somerset Rebels

Edinburgh will look to pick up another three home league points when Somerset Rebels visit the Scotwaste Arena, Armadale tonight (7.30), but what a difference a fortnight can make in speedway.

Somerset now have four of their top seven missing through injury and Monarchs also have their share of walking wounded.

On a reportedly uneven track on Wednesday night, the Rebels top duo of Corey Gathercole and Dakota North (or North Dakota according to Sam Ermolenko) collided, thus joining Christian Hefenbrock and James Holder on the injured list. For Monarchs, Byron Bekker is out and Matthew Wethers is unlikely to be 100% fit.

So starting from the top, Kevin Wolbert is on the crest of a wave of confidence, showing his potential to go a lot further in the sport. He faces twenty-year-old Sam Masters who had a match to forget a fortnight ago and will be keen to improve on his two points gained that night.

Kalle Katajisto has been picking up a few more points of late and will be seriously challenged at No.2 by the hard charging former Monarchs skipper and still Edinburgh favourite Derek Sneddon who is guesting for the longer-term injured German rider Hefenbrock.

Armadale flyer Andrew Tully came close to a five ride maximum a fortnight ago and should be expected to get the better of his opposite number, another former Monarchs fans favourite, Michal Rajkowski who comes in as a guest for the sensational Dakota North.

Rider replacement again operates at No.4, but this time Monarchs skipper Matthew Wethers will take his place but his opposite number Corey Gathercole won't. Matty was on crutches only a fortnight ago which shows what a tough breed speedway riders are.

Craig Cook has been enjoying mixed fortunes of late but he was still too good for the Rebels No.5 James Wright on the last occasion. Wrighty, the 25-year-old former Workington star was another who had a bit of a nightmare a fortnight ago and will be expected to improve on his three points.

Ashley Birks did a fantastic job for Monarchs last time substituting for Byron Bekker but this time it will be young Dudley Heathen Tom Perry who will be hoping to restrict his opposite number, Alex Davies who scored an incredible paid seventeen points on Wednesday night.

Kyle Howarth is on song again at No.7 and he will have his work cut out as Ashley Birks changes sides for this match and replaces the injured James Holder. This could be a trump card for the Rebels who benefited greatly from Kyle Newman guesting on Wednesday with paid fourteen.

So as so often this season, Monarchs look to have the superiority in the top five while their opponents' strength lies in their reserves. Monarchs' three home defeats (two to Glasgow) have weighed them down heavily, so they will be determined not to add to that tally.

A solid team performance is called for and there can be no points thrown away because Somerset demonstrated at the Oak Tree Arena that a seriously weakened side can still turn in a match winning performance by careful juggling of their resources and a small slice of luck.

Two evenly matched sides makes for another intriguing encounter. With a run of better weather this week, Doc Bridgett and his team should have the Armadale surface in ideal racing condition, so let's turn out in force and support the Monarchs in another tense night of Premier League action.

Likely line-ups:

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

SOMERSET REBELS: Sam Masters, Derek Sneddon (guest), Michal Rajkowski (guest), rider replacement for Corey Gathercole, James Wright, Alex Davies, Ashley Birks (guest).