16 POINT LEAD

NEWS Friday 25th April 2008, 0:26am

by Mike Hunter

  Edinburgh Monarchs

The Scotwaste Monarchs battled their way to a 16-point advantage in an eventful KO Cup first leg tie in difficult conditions at Armadale.

Once again the weather let us down and left the riders to cope with heavy and slippery conditions, but the two sides showed such determination and skill that we still witnessed some fine racing.

Both Henning Bager and Michal Makovsky were very competitive for Berwick, and both these riders were excluded in the final heat. Monarchs held a 20-point lead at one stage but this was reduced to only 11 after 14 heats, before the dramatic 5-0 finale.

Ryan Fisher (14) and James Grieves (paid 14) were the home stars though as always everyone battled well for points.

Monarchs may now be slight favourites but the tie is by no means over.