Monarchs must win at Glasgow

NEWS Sunday 3rd May 2026, 10:00am

by Iain McArthur

  Edinburgh Monarchs

After a heavy defeat at Berwick on Saturday night, Edinburgh Monarchs know that in order to progress in the BSN Series, they must go to Glasgow today and win.

This is something which, realistically, was always going to be the case after the Scottish rivals battled to a draw at Armadale in the opening fixture.

After beating Edinburgh by 57-33, the Bandits' winning margin appears to have assured them of qualification as the best second-placed team. Workington's home defeat to Redcar on Saturday saw them finish on 5 points with an identical for and against points-tally of 180-180. Berwick matched that 5-point total but with a +2 points differential (181-179), so that last heat 5-1 made all the difference. Oxford finished second in the Southern section with four points and are eliminated.

With Glasgow on 4 points and Edinburgh on 3 and the aggregate scores level, the winner of today's contest will scoop 3 points and top the group. Clearly, the Monarchs will need to improve significantly on their performance at Shielfield. Kye Thomson continued his barnstorming form with a fantastic 16 points, but as that represented nearly half of his team's total, it is clear that the rest of the team will need to step up.

Ex-Tiger Dan Thompson will be back to lead the charge and if he and Kye can come close to replicating their maximum scores from Friday night, anything is possible.

With the forecasted drizzle expected to stop long before tapes-up at 3pm and two teams at full-strength, this win-or-bust Scottish derby should produce another thrilling speedway encounter.

Sunday 3rd May 2026: Glasgow Tigers v Edinburgh Monarchs, Allied Ashfield Stadium, 3:00pm

ROSS ECO TECHNOLOGIES MONARCHS: Dan Thompson, Jonatan Grahn, Justin Sedgmen, Paco Castagna (captain), Kye Thomson, Mitch Cluff, Jordy Loftus.

ALLIIED VEHICLES TIGERS: Chris Harris (Captain), Mario Häusl, Leon Flint, Kevin Juhl Pedersen, Kyle Howarth, Sam Hagon, Freddy Hodder