POWERFUL SHOW TO CRUSH THE REBELS

NEWS Friday 10th August 2012, 11:01pm

by Mike Hunter

  Edinburgh Monarchs

Somerset are rated a strong side but the Scotwaste Monarchs overpowered them with a 56-37 victory, which might have been even more but for machine problems towards the end.

Once again Craig Cook was exceptional, winning all his five races, but it was also a triumph for the team who all scored at least 5 against a decent visiting team.

There might well have been two other maximums. Matthew Wethers won his first three heats in his most convincing home performance of the year, but shed a chain at the start of heat 14.

Theo Pijper finished with three paid wins but stopped in heat 9 while teaming up with Wethers at the front, and then came to a halt again in the final heat.

These misfortunes didn't have a great effect on the match score, because everyone was scoring points. Jozsef Tabaka particularly impressed - he crashed heavily with Newman in heat 2 but came back to score 9 including impressively quick wins in heats 12 and 14.

Marcel Helfer also had his best home meeting, coming from the back to win heat 2, and after a bad first ride Derek Sneddon scored well including the race of the night in heat 8, in which he pipped Alex Davies who had been trying to slow the race to bring partner Tom Perry through.

Andrew Tully was perhaps the least satisfied home rider with his score, but he was particularly unlucky in heat 4 when baulked at the first bend by the falling Monberg. It was incredible that the heat was not stopped.

For the visitors Jason Doyle, Sam Masters and reserve Tom Perry were best but they found Monarchs in their best form of the year.

There is another Armadale challenge coming tomorrow against Newcastle but the team is in good form, as long as racing the fourth match in four days has not had too bad an effect on the machinery.

Full Result Details