Edinburgh Monarchs v Rye House Rockets

PREVIEW Friday 3rd August 2012, 12:00pm

by Gordon Fraser

  Edinburgh Monarchs

Rye House visit Armadale this Friday (7.30) at the start of another Northern expedition in search of Premier League points, having failed to take anything from their previous forays to Glasgow, Workington and Edinburgh.

Monarchs can't buy an away win, their home form is another matter entirely. For the second week in a row, they will be facing another small track side, and this time the visitors have a more evenly balanced side than that tracked by what turned out to be a disappointing Plymouth team.

There's another cracking contest at No.1 where the new King of Armadale and rising star of televised speedway, Craig Cook, faces the one time Danish international rider Charlie Gjedde, now 31 and with a string of injuries behind him, but still a top performer at this level.

Last week's Monarch of the Match who made light of the track conditions others found so difficult, Derek Sneddon, pits his gating skills against 26-year-old Luke Bowen from Essex, nicknamed the 'Bowen 747', now in his tenth season at Hoddestdon with both the Rockets and the Raiders.

Theo Pijper's performance last week was nothing short of miraculous in view of his wrist injury and at No.3 this week he faces a fast-improving 21-year-old rider from Hagfors in Sweden ,Anders Mellgren, whose previous UK experience was with Newport before becoming a Rocket.

Monarchs skipper and No.4, Matthew Wethers, seems to be coming to the boil nicely in time for his forthcoming testimonial. On the other side of the pits is 28-year-old man of many clubs, Ritchie Hawkins who is having one of his most settled spells in Len Silver's side.

Andrew Tully has been struggling a little with a back problem but hopefully he will be back to his very best this week when he is challenged at No.5 by 27-year-old Jordan Frampton, now a top heat leader and previous Rockets No.1 who is now in his third consecutive Rye House season.

Edinburgh must believe in multiculturalism because their injury replacement at No.6 provides their sixth different nationality, the popular young Hungarian Jozsef Tabaka. He could face a very tough return if one of the UK's best young riders, 18-year-old Jason Garrity is fit enough to ride.

Recent Monarchs' recruit Marcel Helfer has been making a good impression with signs that he is a real racer but he will do well to take points from the vastly experienced Rye House captain, 33-year-old Jason Bunyan who spent a long time with Isle of Wight and is now in his 17th UK season.

So once again Monarchs look vulnerable at reserve in the absence of Micky Dyer because Jozsef and Marcel are both new to the side. That means that their top five will have to step up again, as they are more than capable of doing, if they want to hold on to their unbeaten home league record.

Craig Cook, Theo Pijper and Andrew Tully have collectively formed a formidable heat leader trio around the Scotwaste Arena this season and if their great run continues, it should allow Derek Sneddon and Matthew Wethers' points to make that crucial difference between the sides.

The highlight for home fans will undoubtedly be watching the 'Cookie Monster' in the blue and gold colours because he just seems to get better and better. At the moment it seems the sky's the limit! Then there's the nervous excitement of willing on a pair of very promising reserves.

For Rye House, they effectively have two No.1 riders but are anything but a top-heavy side. The backbone of their side has plenty of experience and if Jason Garrity rides, they will have one of the best reserve pairings to have visited Armadale so far this season.

If this fixture was on a coupon, you'd definitely put it down as a home win. However Monarchs are not at their strongest and they can't afford to give the Rockets an inch. Once again the side will need all the support they can get from the terraces, so make sure you're in your favourite spot and in good voice at 7.30 sharp.

Likely line-ups:-

EDINBURGH SCOTWASTE MONARCHS: Craig Cook, Derek Sneddon, Theo Pijper, Matthew Wethers (capt.), Andrew Tully, Jozsef Tabaka, Marcel Helfer.

RYE HOUSE ROCKETS: Charlie Gjedde, Luke Bowen, Anders Mellgren, Ritchie Hawkins, Jordan Frampton, Jason Garrity, Jason Bunyan (capt.).

Full Result Details