Empty Handed At Foxhall

REPORT Thursday 8th June 2017, 10:15pm

by Graham Muncie

  Edinburgh Monarchs

The Parsons Peebles Monarchs battled hard but a mid match collapse was to prove costly as they ended up empty handed going down 50-39 at Ipswich.

The Monarchs can point to no small measure of bad luck also as to the cause of the score line as a few times they saw precious points slip through their grasp.

Monarchs reserve Mitchell Davey saying after the match ‘The boys are disappointed that we didn’t leave with at least a point. In the early part of the meeting we were gating really well but Ipswich just seemed to find a bit extra out of the gate. The three 5-1’s in the middle of the meeting killed us and it gave them the momentum to go on and win.’

The Monarchs made a solid start to the match sharing the first 3 heats, this could have been better though as Josh Pickering came to grief on the final lap while on a 5-1 with partner Erik Riss in the third race. The visitors were to take the lead in the next race though when Ricky Wells made a lightning gate and with Davey slotting into third they took a 2 point advantage.

Heat advantages were then shared over the next few heats with an unusual 3-2 score to the Monarchs in heat 5 after former Monarch Justin Sedgmen came down after Mark Riss had already crashed out.

So heading into heat 8 the Monarchs were 3 points up and with the heat leaders all scoring well a potential shock looked on the cards. Unfortunately the wheels were to come off as the home men raced to maximum advantages in each of the next 3 heats. On a difficult track with passing at a premium the Monarchs watched as the home pairing jetted from the start time after time and the races were all but over by the second bend.

The Witches now held a 9 point lead and they were not to relinquish this as they provided 4 of the next 5 race winners meaning 7 of the last 8 races were all taken by a home man the only exception to this being Josh Pickering impressing on his debut taking heat 14 from tapes to flag.

Heat 13 is another that the Monarchs will point to as an opportunity lost as home captain Danny King hit the tapes in the first running, the Monarchs pairing of Sam Masters and Wells then jetted from the tapes and looked likely to take maximum points however King was to come a cropper at the back and as is so often the way in speedway his partner Rory Schlein headed home in the re-run.

A final heat 4-2 from King and Schlein made the score look a little comfortable in the end in a match the Monarchs were always in but alas it was not to be and the long drive home will seem all the longer with nothing to show for their efforts.

Full Result Details