Superb heat 14 win for Max Clegg Image Credit: Ron MacNeill

Narrow win in a thrilling derby

REPORT Saturday 16th September 2017, 2:05am

by Mike Hunter

  Edinburgh Monarchs

The Parsons Peebles Monarchs took a giant step towards the end of season Playoffs by grabbing a dramatic victory that looked unlikely for much of the night, a 46-43 win over Glasgow Tigers.

Top scoring home rider Ricky Wells said “Good effort from the team, we never gave up, what more can you say. The track was a little bit different, it was pretty slick. Good to see Max scoring some points, and Sam never gave up. Nobody gave up tonight. I was about ready to pack up and leave after my second ride but I’m glad I stayed and scored some points.”

There were so many unpredictable race results and unexpected heroes that it made a highly entertaining event, with no-one ever sure what was going to happen next. Who would have thought that Glasgow’s guest reserve James Sarjeant would score 12 points, or that Max Clegg would be unbeaten in his final two races, or that after visibly struggling in his first three heats captain Sam Masters would come out and win a sensational heat 13 from the back?

But all these things and many others happened as Monarchs came from a point down to clinch a narrow victory.

Rumours that “the wheels had fallen off” or that Glasgow were “falling apart” due to injuries, proved entirely unfounded as the Tigers took the match to Monarchs right from the off.

Richie Worrall won heat one, Monarchs took the lead in heat 2 when Clegg passed Sarjeant (who earned a warning at the first attempt), and Lawson won heat 3 with Sarjeant in front of Mark Riss. So that was 9-9 and the pattern was set – Tigers heat leaders on form, and James Sarjeant riding far better than his average suggested.

Heat 4 was very significant. Erik Riss made the start but Mitchell Davey was also away superbly well, with Aaron Summers chasing him. Mitch held second for the first lap, but towards the end of the second Summers looked like coming round him, Into lap three Aaron went very fast into the pits turn – locked up and fell. With Ryan MacDonald already out of the race this was a 5-0 to Monarchs.

On a night of unpredictable results we then had Mark Riss winning heat 5 but Ricky Wells unable to make progress from the back, although he put pressure on Worrall and Morris. Morris wasn’t scoring as heavily as Sarjeant but he was taking good points for Tigers all night.

Summers won a shared heat 6 comfortably, and heat 7 was also shared, won by Erik Riss with Morris fighting back to take the point from Clegg.

Heat 8 looked a strong one for Tigers and their guests Sarjeant and Morris duly put a big gap between themselves and Josh Pickering in third. That was 24-23 now.

Heat 9 was a classic. Mark Riss gated, James Sarjeant went round him, Ricky Wells passed both going into lap two, Riss went inside Sarjeant, Sarjeant came back and just held on to second. Monarchs now three up.

Heat 10 looked very ominous. Lawson went clear with Masters in second, until Sam lost control and allowed Sarjeant through for a 5-1. Sam’s fitness is still in doubt and this appeared to show that he is still struggling with the shoulder. Monarchs now a point down as the riders went out for the SRBF collection.

As the match resumed, Worrall won heat 11 from a hard-chasing Riss, with Clegg doing well to beat Morris for the point. But where were Monarchs going to get the heat advantage they needed, especially with Masters struggling?

The answer was heat 12, in which Wells and Clegg unexpectedly romped home ahead of Sarjeant and Lawson to put Monarchs 3 ahead.

Equally surprising was a titanic heat 13 in which Sam Masters (on Mark Riss’s bike), made the start and forced Worrall wide on the first turn. Richie though came back between Masters and Riss to retake the lead, just as Summers came down in a curious fall at the back and cleared the track.

Masters wasn’t finished and stormed back again under Worrall, to be followed by Riss, only for Worrall to retake second place. A superb heat which put Monarchs 5 ahead.

However heat 14 looked a tough one, Mark Riss and Clegg against Aaron Summers on his r/r ride with Sarjeant. Mark was ridden out of it on the opening lap, but the mighty Clegg did the business again and led all the way!

That meant we needed a finisher in the final race for a win which had looked thoroughly unlikely after heat 10. Ricky sat comfortably in second behind Worrall, with Erik Riss just missing out on the tightest finish of the night for third.

A point for Glasgow then, and they owed a debt of gratitude to their guests as well as top men Worrall and Lawson. In the Championship table, Sheffield have 83 points, Ipswich 77, Edinburgh 67, Glasgow 64 and Redcar 59. Redcar have three away matches before Monday’s cutoff, Glasgow two home matches, and Edinburgh one away match. Work that lot out!