Title Partner
After a slow start we gave Glasgow a good match at Ashfield, assisted by a successful TR in heat 8.
For the first seven heats we were pretty feeble, to be frank. No race winners, and the only Monarch to make the gate had been Rusty Harrison in heat 4. However Shane Parker caught him and passed in his favourite way - outside on the 3rd/4th bend.
The only other pass in the first six heats was by Rusty, who used the outside of the pits corner to pull off an overtake of David McAllan in heat 6.
We also survived a scare in heat 7 when Matthew was thrown off his machine and through the tapes by a machine fault prior to the start of heat 7. After some treatment it was good to see him rise and walk back to the pits.
In the rerun Parker tried to team ride Ksiezak home, as he has made a habit of doing this year, but he was caught by a fine last corner outside pass by William. It was the first really exciting moment of the day, after which we trailed 16-26.
A TR for Theo in heat 8 was the obvious option, and happily Derek Sneddon also clicked into gear after struggling in his earlier heats. We were on the 8-1 when David McAllan slipped past Derek at the end of lap two. Derek moved alongside down the straight and tried an outside pass,
The result was Derek came down, and it came as something of a surprise when McAllan was excluded. In the rerun we successfully completed an 8-1 over Cockle, Derek passing the Tigers' reserve.
So having appeared completely out of it, suddenly we were only 24-27 down. The daft rules had done it again.
The team were galvanised. Rusty raced to a very impressive heat 9 win over Nieminen, his best ride for a wee while. Matthew lost a point in heat 10 by trying too hard to use the outside line dirt and being passed by McAllan, but the gating was improving and our opening pair made the start in heat 11.
Henrik rode mid-track with Theo inside him, and against Parker that simply isn't good enough. No-one was entirely surprised when he swept past on the outside line which we should have been covering better.
Heat 12 looked hopeful for us though, and so it proved as Derek and Matthew took an easy 5-1. Matthew hadn't enjoyed much luck and it was his first points. Now we were just a single point behind!
Bird and Parker made the start in heat 13 with Rusty chasing, and he grabbed a second when he spotted that Bird had left that outside gap untended on the last corner.
Could we get something out of heat 14? It looked like it as William and Derek gated, but Robert Ksiezak dropped it at the back for no obvious reason. The race was stopped and if the heat 8 decision had gone our way, this one didn't with all four invited back.
Nieminen raced away in the rerun but we we did share it with some hard work by our pair.
Three down going into the final heat gave us a theoretical chance, but Parker and Bird raced away. It was almost all over but this time it was Theo who pulled off the last gasp pass with a tight turn and a wee shove to come under Bird.
Over the second half of the match we competed well and a 5-point deficit leaves the bonus open as the Tigers come to Armadale on Friday.
It's the first of our four scheduled visits to Ashfield this season, the Spring Trophy match having been postponed by the rain. There's no doubt that this will be a tough match with Glasgow now showing some form around their own track following their customary home defeat to Workington a few weeks ago.
Assessing the team's chances is difficult because there are so many factors involved. The first is the state of the Ashfield track on what may well be a dry afternoon. It has been a constant problem for the track staff to get the watering right as it is with any track operating in the afternoon because there is a tendency for it to dry out quickly in certain circumstances.
The second is the various battles between the parts of the two teams. Starting at reserve, Glasgow have fallen on their feet having recruited the fast gating Robert Ksiezak after it was clear that Adam Roynon would not be fully fit for the start of the season. With James Cockle producing good scores round his home track we need to make sure that we are not heavily outscored in this department. That task is down to Derek and Sean.
In the second string department, Lee Dicken has not excelled so far but David McAllan produced an excellent nine points against Stoke last week. It will be up to Matthew and Henrik to make sure that they match anything scored by the Tigers in this department.
Up front Glasgow have benefited a lot from Kauko Nieminen's early season form. He is clearly at home on the Ashfield track and could be a real problem. Conversely Danny Bird has not been the force expected although that seems to have been put down to engine problems. Shane Parker is as consistent as ever round his own patch and it will not be easy living with the scoring of the Tigers' top trio.
Rusty Harrison has been one of the few riders who can match the best round the Glasgow track and we can only hope that he has shaken off the effects of his chest infection so that he and his bikes are in top form. Theo, too, has had many excellent rides there while William's brilliant surge of form could well cause the Tigers problems.
Overall it looks as though we may not quite have enough fire power to produce a win on this occasion but with derby matches you never know. With Glasgow racing the return match at Armadale next Friday we must at least keep it close. We know that the Glasgow set up puts them in a good position to keep things tight in away matches with maximum use of the Tactical Substitute and Tactical Ride rules. Here's hoping that we are never in a position to use them in Sunday's encounter.
Sunday 30th April 2006, 7:30pm
The Scotwaste Monarchs fought back after a slow start to put up a decent showing at Ashfield.
© Edinburgh Monarchs Speedway 2024
Bathgate Road
Armadale
EH48 2PD
