Edinburgh Monarchs v Glasgow Tigers

There were some unpredictable elements in the match as the Scotwaste Monarchs rose to the occasion better than Glasgow and took all three points.

For one thing, the three Armadale specialists in the Tigers? team did not dominate the match. Far from it, their scores were somewhat flattering, and it was the home trio of Fisher, Wolbert and Wethers who had a firm grip on proceedings. Just two points dropped in 14 rides, all tremendous.

On the other hand, Aaron Summers was not the star reserve. Far from it, he won two heats and scored an embarrassing one points from his other five rides. He looked ill-prepared and didn?t play the part expected of him.

No, the top reserve was big Lee Dicken with 10+4 gathered in bustling style. In a team with such big guns, it was quite something for the Englishman to be the rider who kept them in the match.

The match got off to an unfortunate start. As they went into the first turn with Fisher ahead, Dilger was trapped on the inside and couldn?t turn, taking himself and Grajczonek into the fence. It was quite a nasty one and probably had a subsequent effect on men and machines.

Fisher beat Parker very easily in the rerun but Grajczonek pulled out early and Monarchs were a point ahead.

Aaron Summers won heat 2 as expected and Bekker rode well to pressurise Dicken for second.

Heat 3 was quite an eye-opener. William Lawson was expected to be a threat but he was swept aside at the first turn by Wolbert (outside) and Wethers (inside) who then teamed up and gave the ex-Monarch absolutely no chance.

If that was encouraging, then heat 4 was not. Rajkowski swept to the front but James Grieves had little difficulty coming inside him off the pits corner. Rajkowski looked unsure and rode some poor bends, which allowed Lee Dicken to make up ground and power past on lap three with some force.

Parker jetted away with heat 5, Wethers and Wolbert comfortably sharing it with Grajczonek not looking speedy at the back.

Fisher won heat 6 and withstood a powerful first lap challenge from Grieves. It should have been a 4-2 but Dilger rode a horror bend, going in far too tight and heading for the fence, thus allowing Mitchell Davey to sail through for a point. Max?s poor ride was probably due to his hand injury which thereafter forced him out of the meeting.

Lee Dicken made the gate in heat 7 with Rajkowski chasing round the outside and Lawson coming up the inside. Rajkowski was in an awkward spot but stuck to his guns and several times looked like taking the lead. He didn?t make it but he did secure second even though Lawson was close throughout.

Tigers had a 4-2 though and now we were only one point ahead.

After a false start, the good version of Aaron Summers turned up to win heat 8 with Tigers sharing.

Heat 9 had our super-pairing out again, and sure enough they rode another terrific race to take a maximum over James Grieves.

We looked like getting another maximum advantage as Fisher and Summers led heat 10, with Lawson not really challenging, but Summers made a massive error on the pits bend to allow Lawson into second. He almost fell but hung on for the point.

Once again though the seven point lead was cut back when Grajczonek gated and Parker passed Rajkowski. The Raj made some interesting passing attempts on Parker, causing Parker to pass Grajczonek in order to get away from him, but Tigers took the 5 points.

Wolbert was again brilliant in winning heat 12, but there was no support this time from Summers who was looking a forlorn figure way behind Lawson and Dicken.

Heat 13 was the really big one, with the Tigers? top two in it. Just as in the Premier Trophy, Rajkowski flew from the start, and with Ryan Fisher superbly slotting in behind, we took a vital step towards victory. Grieves kept up the challenge but Fisher dealt firmly with him when required.

Now we simply needed to avoid two 5-1s to win, and we were also on target for the third point. Matthew Wethers kept our advantage by winning heat 14, with Summers completing a very disappointing night by trailing at the back again.

So now we needed to share the last heat to take all the points. Fisher and Wolbert were away well but somehow Grieves came down heavily on the run to the first turn. He was shaken and took a while to rise.

It was all four for the rerun and Lawson was the next eligible rider as Dicken had completed his maximum seven. No bother to the home boys though as Fisher and Wolbert completed superb nights by racing away for a maximum heat win.

HERMISTON MONARCH OF THE MATCH: Kevin Wolbert.

Edinburgh Monarchs v Glasgow Tigers

The Scotwaste Monarchs? hectic week comes to an end on Friday night when old foes Glasgow Tigers arrive at sunny Armadale in Premier League action.

No less than 6 meetings were scheduled between Birmingham?s visit and that of the Tigers. However, as has been so typical of our 2009 season, Wednesday night?s trip to Perry Barr fell victim to those dreaded black clouds. It means the middle of September will now see another punishing set of fixtures and hopefully no rain!

Having scraped home against the Brummies last Friday, only 2 further points were picked up from trips to Workington, Newcastle and Redcar. Probably the highlight of the weekend was watching German newcomer Kevin Wolbert in action. There?s no doubt the lad has talent and, if he continues in a similar vein, I?m sure he?ll become something of a hero amongst the home supporters (if he?s not already that is!).

While Wolbert is making his derby debut, fellow countryman Max Dilger has already tasted the atmosphere these clashes provide. A return of 4+2 at Ashfield recently was rather encouraging, despite our poor result that day.

Skipper Matthew Wethers will be hoping the extra couple of days rest has been enough to get his fitness back to something near normal. Matthew suffered one too many crashes last weekend and looked rather second hand at times! Meanwhile, Michal Rajkowski takes over the difficult number 5 berth and his contribution will be key as will that of reserve pairing Aaron Summers and Byron Bekker, who must outscore their lower order counterparts Mitchell Davey and Lee Dicken if we are to get a decent result.

It?s fair to say the Tigers have never had a more potent Armadale spearhead (I can?t call them a heat leader trio because Josh Grajczonek is higher than William Lawson in the month of August!). Messrs Parker, Grieves and Lawson are not only extremely well known, but are also more than capable of posting double figure scores. Should they do so on Friday, the Glasgow fans may even end up celebrating their 2nd PL victory at the Scotwaste Arena in just 3 seasons.

Rather surprisingly Slovenian Aleksander Conda is listed in the Tigers? side. It?s likely he won?t be fit enough for this clash, in which case the rider replacement facility will operate. Lawson plus reserves Mitchell Davey and Lee Dicken are eligible to cover in the event of his absence.

On the weather front, I hear Hurricane Zebedee (or whatever it?s called) will be in the air, so bang goes the chances of me wearing my shorts. Let?s also hope the riders are super strong and don?t get blown away!

No matter what happens, let?s hope for a decent night?s speedway and, as always, may the best team win...

Line-ups:

Monarchs: Ryan Fisher, Max Dilger, Kevin Wolbert, Matthew Wethers, Michal Rajkowski, Aaron Summers, Byron Bekker.

Tigers: Shane Parker, Josh Grajczonek, William Lawson, Aleksander Conda, James Grieves, Mitchell Davey, Lee Dicken.