Title Partner
Berwick provided modest opposition as the Scotwaste Monarchs piled up 60 points for the second week in succession.
Once again it was a solid 7-man show with everyone scoring good points. The two youngsters who started the season at reserve, Andrew Tully and Derek Sneddon, were far from overawed and were amongst our best performers.
Derek was chosen as Hermiston Monarch of the match for his excellent 9-point display, while Andrew overcame poor starts with aplomb to finish on 8+2. Remarkable.
Matthew Wethers top scored in his first match down at reserve and might have had a maximum but for a mistake in heat 4.
Ronnie Correy started the match by winning in the fastest time of the season, just 0.1 outside the track record.
Matthew was soon ahead in heat 2, with Daniele making light of his foot injury and passing both Bandits' reserves during the heat.
Stan Burza fell on the first corner in heat 3 as William again looked fast and confident to win from Rempala.
Matthew should have won heat 4 but he drifted on the pits bend, lost control and swung back into Henrik Moller's path as Bergstrom took advantage to win.
William and Henrik put us back on track with an easy 5-1 over Makovsky, then we had quite a surprise in heat 6.
First of all Benji Compton took one of his regular falls, just missing Derek Sneddon as he lost it on the top bend. Then in the rerun Ronnie Correy hit the deck on the first bend!
So we were down to two starters, and although Bergstrom made the start, Derek squeezed through boldly leaving the second bend for an excellent win.
Bandits then put Burza on a TR, and he was soon ahead in heat 7. Andrew passed Jacek Rempala but Daniele was tailed off for what was to prove our only last place other than Ronnie's fall.
The 2-7 cut the gap to 26-18, but that was the end of Bandits' heat advantages.
Against Bandits' two newly-introduced riders, Derek and Matthew picked up a comfortable heat 8 5-1.
William and Henrik repeated that against Bergstrom and now we were 16 points to the good.
Burza took another win in heat 10 with Ronnie getting into difficulties on the first lap until he settled down to share the race with Derek.
Berwick played their last tactical card with Bergstrom as a tax sub in heat 11 against what might have looked a vulnerable pair of Tully and Tessari. It didn't prove to be though, because Andrew took advantage of Makovsky's first bend locker to go ahead, and Daniele held off Bergstrom to keep him pointless.
Even Burza had no answer to Lawson and Wethers in heat 12 as we continued to pile up the points, and not only did Ronnie get back in the groove, but Andrew joined him with an outside sweep on the first bend to pass Bergstrom!
Not bad for Andrew's first taste of heat 13.
Rempala made the start to win heat 14 easily, with Henrik and Daniele not quick enough to put him under pressure.
It was Matthew and William lining up in the final heat against Berwick's Poles. Once again Rempala was away well but Matthew hit the inside of the second bend to go to the front. William's maximum was on the line but he couldn't quite peg back Rempala.
A routine match maybe but another job well done by the Scotwaste Monarchs.
Monarchs look to maintain their unbeaten Premier League record this Friday. Standing between them and another two points are the Berwick Bandits.
This will be the Bandits' second visit this season. The Premier Trophy meeting proved to be hugely memorable, both for an impressive performance by the home side and, of course, the poor visibility on the terraces. Let's hope the fog stays away as yours truly was one of those who mist most of the action back then (please note that was a deliberate spelling mistake - I'm trying to win the 'Worst Pun Used on an Official Speedway Website' Award for 2007!)
Er, anyway, down to business... what a difference a day makes! If I had written this preview yesterday, I would've passed comment on the fact our Border friends had only made one team change to date (it's generally nearer ten by the time they arrive in Armadale on PL duty!). However, with all the precise timing of a black cloud on a Friday evening, Mr Waite has 'chopped' two more members of his 1-7!
Reported 'victims' on this occasion are ex-Monarch Michael Coles (no great loss there!) and haywire reserve Rob Grant who has, at times, looked almost as dangerous on track as his father was all those years ago.
They're due to be replaced by Jamie Robertson (I'm sure the Berwick start bloke will be well chuffed!) and another ex-Monarch David Meldrum. Certainly Robertson has shown a liking for the Armadale track in the past, but Meldrum is far less prolific.
Apparently, the moves have been made in time for this meeting but it remains to be seen as to whether this is actually the case. So, if you're standing in the cold at 8pm and no racing has taken place due to 'pit discussions' you'll know what's going on!
Those two aside, the Bandits' main threat will (as always) come from Stanislaw 'the Manislaw' Burza. What level of support he receives from the other so-called top men (Messrs Rempala, Makovsky and Bergstrom) remains to be seen. Personally, I would list new man Jamie Robertson as the most likely to get anywhere near double figures.
Final mention where the Bandits are concerned is an overdue apology I feel I should issue to Benji Compton. On his last visit, I stated he would "definitely fall at least once tonight". Well, hats off to the lad, he stayed on! (I even lost a fiver bet with one of my mates!) Let's hope he can repeat the feat in this one...
For the Monarchs, team reshuffling is again the flavour of the week. Andrew Tully has earned a 6 meeting average (3 home plus 3 away) and moves up into the top 5, a quite remarkable achievement for a quite remarkable young rider. Moving in the opposite direction is Matthew Wethers, who has had something of a sticky start to the season but will no doubt use this opportunity to score as many points as possible until he gets promoted again! (in July I believe)
The one possible negative is the fact Daniele Tessari may be a doubt, due to a broken bone in his foot, incurred during last week's spectacular KO Cup victory over Sheffield. He's due to go to the Hospital on Friday morning to get the plaster removed and hopefully all will be well.
In the event of Mr Tessari's absence, he would have to be replaced by a Conference League guest (seeing as he's now number 7 in our averages). This would make quite a dent in the bottom end of the side, although I can't really see it making much of a difference for this meeting - even Mr Campbell could probably score a point against Berwick! (that was a joke by the way, honest!)
As always, may the best team win...
Line-ups:
Monarchs: Ronnie Correy (capt.), Derek Sneddon, William Lawson, Henrik Moller, Andrew Tully, Daniele Tessari, Matthew Wethers.
Bandits: I wouldn't even like to guess but, presuming straight like for like swaps for those originally announced, it should read something like this:
Michal Makovsky (capt.), David Meldrum (or Michael Coles?!), Stanislaw Burza, Jacek Rempala, Andreas Bergstrom, Benji Compton, Jamie Robertson (or Rob Grant Jnr?).
Saturday 12th May 2007, 0:01am
Once again the Scotwaste Monarchs were in solid-scoring mood as they comfortably saw off the challenge of Berwick by 60-32.
Friday 11th May 2007, 1:30pm
Monarchs' Italian Daniele Tessari says he is ready to race against Berwick on Friday night.
Friday 11th May 2007, 0:01am
Berwick have made two team changes and the new riders, Jamie Robertson and David Meldrum, will ride at Armadale on Friday night.
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