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It was a stop-start opening night at Armadale with crashes and engine problems punctuating the night, and an unpleasant pileup to end the evening.
It seems neither Matthew Wethers nor Robert Ksiezak are seriously hurt following their major pileup in heat 13 (see news story). The delay in treating the riders and awaiting the ambulance took us close to our curfew and the match was abandoned at this stage.
Earlier in front of the biggest ever opening night Armadale crowd, we had seen a match which had swung one way and the other. Glasgow led after five heats, Monarchs then built up a 9-point advantage with the help of a heat 9 5-0, only for Tigers to come back with a 7-1 in heat 11.
At the time of the call-off Tigers probably fancied their chances, with Shane Parker and George Stancl proving once again the most influential figures in the match.
Stancl started the match with a comfortable win in the fastest time of the night, while his partner Lee Smethills held second on the opening lap only to stop on the pits turn. This was the first of numerous examples of poor gating by the Monarchs? squad.
Derek Sneddon went ahead in heat 2 and may have clipped David McAllan?s front wheel on the first turn. McAllan fell and was not pleased to be excluded from the rerun, a win for Sneddon from the hard-pressing Lee Dicken.
Daniele Tessari made a quick start in heat 3 but didn?t turn, and headed for the fence taking William Lawson with him. William came back to pass Shane Parker but couldn?t catch Trent Leverington, while Tessari finished well back.
Glasgow took the lead in heat 4 with Robert Ksiezak winning and Matthew Wethers having to come from the back to pass Dicken.
Lawson impressively gained Monarchs? second race win in heat 5 in spite of strong pressure from Stancl, but again Tessari struggled at the rear.
Lee Dicken was the early leader in heat 6 until Ronnie Correy nipped through to the front. Henrik Moller was also pressing hard when Dicken stopped on the final lap. That 5-1 put Monarchs two points up.
Wethers then rode an excellent heat 7 to keep Parker at pay, cleverly holding the inside on the final lap to prevent the Tiger squeezing through.
Moller was warming up now and had a comfortable win in heat 8. Derek Sneddon pressurised McAllan for second but had to settle for a point.
Tessari and Lawson came down on the first bend of heat 9, and Ksiezak was rather surprisingly ruled the guilty party. In the rerun the Monarchs were again outgated, by Dicken this time, but Dicken spun off on the pits bend. He hobbled off leaving Monarchs to take a 5-0 and a 9-point lead.
Parker then headed the Correy-Moller pairing and in heat 11 Tigers made their big move, using Parker as a TS along with Stancl at the gate. It looked formidable and so it proved, Parker quickly passing Sneddon and gradually wearing down Wethers, who didn?t repeat his earlier clever inside-line ride. Parker just failed to catch Stancl at the finish so Tigers had to settle for a 7-1.
Tigers cut the gap further in heat 12 when Parker won an excellent heat against Lawson, after Andrew Tully had crashed spectacularly but without damage.
Then came heat 13. Once more the Tigers made the start, Stancl leading from Ksiezak, but Ksiezak spun off on the pits corner right in the path of Wethers storming round the outside. Matthew went right over the top and it looked as though it could be nasty for both riders, though thankfully we know now that they seem to be OK.
Monarchs did not ride especially well and will need to improve their gating and all-round performance if they are to push Tigers close on Sunday.
HEMISTON MOTOR COMPANY MONARCH OF THE MATCH: Matthew Wethers.
This Friday sees the beginning of another new speedway season at Armadale, as the two Scottish sides battle it out for supremacy and early bragging rights.
Both teams have made changes to their respective line-ups. For Edinburgh, Theo Pijper has now joined Elite League Wolverhampton and young reserve Sean Stoddart now plies his trade for Northern neighbours Newcastle. Their replacements are the vastly experienced American Ronnie Correy (quickly installed as club Captain) and former Dale Devil (and indeed club mascot) Andrew Tully.
There are three new faces in the Glasgow team, although two of them could hardly be described as 'new'! Leaving via the exit door were solid Finn Kake Nieminen (who has returned to parent club Workington), disappointing reserve James Cockle (Sheffield) and Danny Bird, who helped form a potent spearhead with Shane Parker during 2006. Bird has 'gone home' to Reading in the Elite League and scored steadily in the Sky meeting there last night.
Incoming Tigers' representatives this year are Ashfield favourites George Stancl and Trent Leverington, plus Lee Smethills, who seems to have been around for numerous years! (and will forever be fondly remembered by myself for his guest appearance for Edinburgh (at Newcastle) in 2003)
Despite the Tigers retaining a 'strong top two' it remains to be seen how much effect this will have in meetings in 2007, after a rule change which now forces teams to place their highest men at 1 and 3. At least heat 13 should prove to be much less of an achilles heel to the Monarchs than during the last two years!
Visits to Armadale hold no fear for Tigers, especially as Stancl and Shane Parker almost always score double figures. The key to success for our friends from the West remains the returns from the remainder of the side. Leverington, Smethills, David McAllan and Robert Ksiezak have all had their moments in previous years. I must admit, I do find the decision to hand Ksiezak the number five race jacket a strange one but, you know what they say - if you can't experiment with different line-ups and pairings in a Challenge competition, when can you?!
Well, that's Glasgow, so what of the Monarchs? We'll all be hoping for an improvement on 2006, when the team struggled for the most part. I'm pleased to say, however, I am hugely optimistic about 2007 and believe we have a very exciting looking line-up. Apart from Correy (who should prove to be a leader on and off the track), William Lawson, Matthew Wethers, Henrik Moller, Daniele Tessari and Derek Sneddon are filled with massive potential and all are more than capable of adding to their starting averages. Even local lad Tully, if he gets off to a good start and keeps his confidence levels up, has a chance of (at the very least) achieving a figure between 3.50 and 4.00.
Who am I backing for the win? I'm not saying!! The opening night is, to me, more about blowing off the cobwebs, experimenting with engine set-ups, etc, and just getting through to the finish without any major blow ups or injuries. Hopefully both sides will attain that goal and we can all look forward to the serious business waiting just around the corner.
For the record, last year saw the Tigers clinch the Trophy with a two point aggregate victory, although the second leg didn't take place 'til the end of May! Let's hope the weather stays in everyone's favour this time and the return at Ashfield on Sunday sees a suitable conclusion with the best team emerging victorious.
Teams:
Monarchs: Ronnie Correy, Henrik Moller, William Lawson, Daniele Tessari, Matthew Wethers, Derek Sneddon, Andrew Tully.
Tigers: George Stancl, Lee Smethills, Shane Parker, Trent Leverington, Robert Ksiezak, Lee Dicken, David McAllan.
© Edinburgh Monarchs Speedway 2024
Bathgate Road
Armadale
EH48 2PD
