Edinburgh Monarchs v Reading Racers

For the second week running we repelled a strong challenge from a good southern team in an exciting night of Speedway. How good would this have looked on Sky TV?

Reading kept up the pressure right to the end, and we had to pull out some good performances to stay in front. Heat reverses by 0-5 (heat 3) and 1-8 (heat 11) didn't help!

It was a highly eventful meeting, starting with a good win from the back by Ryan Fisher who passed Chris Mills after a couple of laps.

Mark Lemon fell on the first turn but was back on so quickly he almost caught Derek Sneddon for third.

Our reserves didn't make the gate but they cut past the stand-in Racers' reserves for a 5-1. So far so good.

William Lawson got in front of 11-point average man Ostergaard but stopped on the pits corner of lap one. Andrew Tully then took up the challenge and gave Ostergaard a hard time, passing him a couple of times, but finally Ostergaard took over on the last lap, and Andrew took a heavy tumble going into the last corner. A gift 0-5 to the Racers.

A very unsatisfactory first corner to heat 4 left Matthew Wethers fuming. He was pinned to the fence by Ross Brady two-wheeling across the bend, and never recovered. He should really have taken third place but never settled down.

Aaron took second behind Tom Madsen but we were now a point down!

Lemon recovered from heat 1 to head Lawson in heat 5, theb the luck swung our way in heat 6. Fisher and Sneddon led, but Madsen forced inside Sneddon on the first corner of lap two. Derek came down and Madsen was excluded, unluckily in my view (though others disagree).

We were now 4 ahead and built a lead over the next few heats. A great ride by Matthew blocked out Ostergaard in heat 7, and we would have had a 5-1 in heat 8 (won by Summers) but for Fisher running out of fuel. He managed to hold third ahead of Mills who had fallen. Boy was Ryan mad!

William and Matthew though took a comfortable 5-1 from heat 9, and at 32-20 we were in control. We thought.

Heat 10 featured a fantastic ride from the back by Ryan. He didn't do Derek many favours in the early stages but he rode furiously, rounding the Racers' pair of Ostergaard and Suchanek, then recovering after losing the lead again by making the most audacious move between the opposition. What a win!

Racers hadn't given up though and not only did Lemon take 6 from heat 11 on his TR, but Mills passed Wethers for an 8-1!

Ostergaard then headed Lawson and we were 5 up with 3 to go.

We needed a good heat 13 - and we got it. A great start by Derek, who then pinned Lemon to the line as Matthew came superbly through the middle. Derek battled back round the outside and they rode a great race to take 5.

Was it all over at 44-35? No! Next up was Ostergaard on a TS, and when Suchanek made the gate we had a very tense heat. Fisher (wide) and Tully (inside) tried to hold off the battling Ostergaard and they did restrict him to a third place after a tough heat.

So we were finally home. William took his second win in the last heat with a fine ride, while Ryan rode another wide-line battle against Ostergaard and Lemon, eventually falling on the last lap. Great stuff.

HERMISTON MONARCH OF THE MATCH: Aaron Summers

Edinburgh Monarchs v Reading Racers

Following King's Lynn's visit last Friday, this week sees the arrival of another of the top Southern sides fancied by many to challenge for honours at the top of the league.

Reading dropped down from the Elite League last year to make their first appearance at Armadale since September 2005 when the Monarchs won by 46-43. There isn't a single survivor from that match in the Racers' side this year.

Recent results have been unpredictable for the new look Reading side. For example they lost to Somerset at home but won away at the Oak Tree Arena in the Premier Trophy. They went on to win their section and, of course, face the Monarchs home and away in the semi-finals. Last week they hammered King's Lynn by 25 points in the Knock Out Cup yet struggled to a 46-44 win at home last Monday against the Isle of Wight before making the trip to the Island on Tuesday where, before a television audience, they looked less than impressive losing heavily to the Islanders.

So who represents the Racers this year? The top pairing is Mark Lemon and Chris Mills. Mark Lemon last rode at Armadale guesting for Newport in 2006 when he scored 8 (6). However the previous year saw him score 16 points also from 6 rides for Exeter which included a 6 point TR. Chris Mills joined Reading this year from King's Lynn. Last year he failed to score from 3 rides at the Dale.

The middle pairing consists of Ulrich Ostergaard and Tomas Suchanek. Ostergaard last rode at Armadale for Birmingham last year scoring 6 points from 4 rides although on that occasion he was suffering from a back injury. Ostergaard is just about the top man in the Premier League at the present and it would be a major shock if he didn't hit double figures in Friday's match. Tomas Suchanek is a rider who relies very heavily on fast starts to score his points. Last year he appeared for Mildenhall scoring 5 points from 5 rides and for King's Lynn at reserve as a guest managing only 4 points.

Tom P Madsen is the Reading number 5. Last years he appeared as the Mildenhall number 1 but only scored 6+1 on that occasion. He is another rider who needs to gate well to score points and riding with the reserves this pairing looks very vulnerable.

At reserve Jaimie Smith, if fit after his fall last Monday night, rides at number 6. He hasn't appeared at Armadale since the match against Somerset in 2005 when he partnered Magnus Zetterstrom at number 2 and scored 3+2 from his four rides. The other reserve, Daniel Warwick, is out through injury and is replaced by Ross Brady as a guest. Brady's performances are well known round Armadale. The question is - which Ross will turn up on Friday?

Edinburgh will face Reading again fairly soon in the semi-final of the Premier Trophy and this match may give an indication of the Racers' strengths and weaknesses round Armadale. The previous performances of the Racers' riders at the Dale do not give any indication of just how good a side they can be but it will be a major disappointment if the Monarchs can't win this match with a bit to spare.

The main threat comes of course from Ostergaard but Mark Lemon is capable of scoring heavily too. Suchanek and Madsen will need to be brilliant from the gate if Reading are to mount a serious challenge although they will be hoping that Ross Brady will be a trump card for them at reserve.

This is the first of three hard matches in three days for the Monarchs and the importance of getting the programme underway with a home win cannot be overstressed. The team is performing so well home and away that they should be very confident of sending the Racers home empty handed but nothing can be taken for granted.

Likely line-ups:

Edinburgh: Derek Sneddon, Ryan Fisher, William Lawson, Thomas Jonasson, Matthew Wethers, Andrew Tully, Aaron Summers

Reading: Mark Lemon, Chris Mills, Ulrich Ostergaard, Tomas Suchanek, Tom P Madsen, Jaimie Smith, Ross Brady.

May the better team win.