Newcastle Diamonds v Edinburgh Monarchs

This was a hard fought match in which gating was by far the most important element, few riders losing position. In fact we were not really at our best, but everyone contributed enough to ensure victory.

Sam Masters won heat 1 with a bit to spare, with Erik getting round well enough at the rear in his first ride on the track.

Heat 2 proved to be really crucial, a good gate by our reserves with Rob Branford winning comfortably and Max Clegg working hard to keep Rose at bay. That 5-1 gave us a lead we never lost.

Steve Worrall was the best gater on the night by far, and he won heat 3, with Lindgren beating Cook in heat 4.

Craig missed the start and careered after the Swede, but even he couldn't pass. Branford lost a lot of ground at the start in this one and could not overhaul Greenwood so we were now just two ahead.

The next two heats were shared, Cook winning heat 6 after Kerr had lost control on the first bend, badly baulking Clegg.

Heat 7 was another key race for us, both Sedgmen and Wolbert passing Lindgren in the early stages for a 5-1. We lost heat 8 by the same score after Riss had gone too fast into the third corner while holding second spot.

Craig at last made a start and comfortably beat Worrall in heat 9, equalling the fastest time of the season. Heat 10 was shared and we were still 2 points up with 5 heats to go.

In heat 11 Lindgren fell trying to pass Masters on the outside, and the decision to exclude Lindgren seems to have caused controversy, though it looked clear cut on the night. We took a 5-1 in the rerun with a very good ride from Riss.

Diamonds got a 4-2 back in heat 12 when Max Clegg was caught by Rose on the run to the line (first pass of the night?) but a brilliant first corner in heat 13 from Cook and Masters gave us another 4-2.

Sedgmen gated well to win heat 14 with this time Branford passing Rose right at the end, putting us 8 up, but a last heat 2-4 won by the remarkable Worrall meant we just lost out on the extra point.