Edinburgh Monarchs v Redcar Bears

The very bad luck suffered by Redcar during and since the first leg meant that there was only going to be one outcome to this tie.

Edinburgh may well have gone through against a full strength Redcar side but they were not tested by this makeshift team. The two National League lads (who gave their all) and Dimitri Berge (who can’t get round Armadale at speed) were out 15 times between them, which meant that you had to wait a while for the occasional competitive heat to come along.

There were a few of these. After Justin Sedgmen had executed a perfect second bend pass in heat 1, Aaron Summers and Craig Cook fought out a good duel for the second spot.

We then had another battle for the minor places in heat 3 between Matej Kus, Jonas Andersen and Erik Riss, with Riss almost diving inside the visitors but locking up and coming on to the centre.

Kus and Andersen had to work hard again to hold off Max Clegg in heat 7, but the score was mounting and Monarchs led by 20 points after heat 8.

Kus was gradually gaining momentum and rode four determined laps in heat 9 in pursuit of Riss, gaining his reward with a perfectly executed pass on the last corner.

Monarchs were far enough ahead to give a ride to no. 8 in heat 11 to Lewis Millar, a big moment for the young Scot. This race also gave a measure of Clegg’s progress as he chased Summers hard for all four laps.

Cook didn’t drop another point after heat 1, Kevin Wolbert sailed home in all his rides, and Justin Sedgmen stayed unbeaten until the final race when Kus got a deserved reward for his night’s work, celebrating what was his team’s second race win.

Edinburgh Monarchs v Redcar Bears

Edinburgh Border Roofing Monarchs face the second leg of a Knockout Cup tie tonight against a Redcar Bears side who failed to score 30 points last month, then won four out of five matches but have since been decimated by injuries.

The Bears are without Lasse Bjerre, Stuart Robson, Jan Graversen and Adam Roynon for varying periods and have been unable to field seven riders for this match which they go into holding a slender two point lead from a good home performance in the first leg.

The sensational Craig Cook is back to leading from the front when he returns to No.1 where he faces the determined Glasgow star, Aaron Summers who guests for the injured Lasse Bjerre (out for the rest of the season). Aaron and Craig is a great match up.

Justin Sedgmen, who seems most at home at Armadale, renews his fantastic partnership with Craig when lines up at No.2. On the other side of the pits is the Bears' latest signing, French rider Dmitri Berge who left Glasgow after a lean spell.

Kevin Wolbert is hopefully fully recovered by now from his shoulder injury as he will need to be at his sharpest to match the Bears' mercurial Matej Kus from the Czech Republic who is at last really showing the undoubted talent that has always been there.

Monarchs' exciting young German rider Erik Riss partners Kevin at No.4 as usual where he lines up opposite another recent Bears' signing, Jonas B Andersen from Copenhagen in Denmark who has slotted straight into the Premier League with excellent scores both home and away.

Both sides look to use rider replacement at No.5 in what will be a six-a-side match. In Monarchs' case it's Sam Masters who is still out with a broken bone in this hand, and for the Bears it's Stuart Robson who picked up an injury earlier this week.

Max Clegg seems to be riding with a lot more confidence with half a season of PL experience now behind him. Another who has shown encouraging signs of improvement is Bears' No.6, Liam Carr who comes in as a guest for any one of several injured Bears.

Rob Branford makes an Armadale return at No.7 where he will be looking for a big pay night since the Bears have struggled to fill the second reserve spot. The inexperienced Rob Shuttleworth who rode with Stoke last year and rides with Coventry Storm this year has answered the call.

So this Redcar side has of necessity a very makeshift look although they still have a nucleus of three very good rider in Summers, Kus and Andersen. Unfortunately they look weak in other areas, particularly at reserve without the likes of Roynon and Graversen.

Monarchs will naturally start as firm favourites but they will be mindful of suffering an unexpected reverse at Redcar just six days after their crushing win at Armadale. However in the circumstances it will be a major surprise if they can't overturn a two-point deficit.

It's nice to get a rare taste of Saturday night speedway. The weather forecast for the match is really good and as a bonus you get the chance to savour the poetry in motion of Craig Cook in full flight threatening the track record yet again. Tapes up at the earlier time of 7.00 sharp.

Likely line-ups:

EDINBURGH BORDER ROOFING MONARCHS: Craig Cook (capt.), Justin Sedgmen, Kevin Wolbert, Erik Riss, R/R for Sam Masters, Max Clegg, Rob Branford.

REDCAR 'ECCO' BEARS: Aaron Summers (guest), Dimitri Berge, Matej Kus, Jonas B Andersen, R/R for Stuart Robson (capt.), Liam Carr (guest), Rob Shuttleworth (guest).