Rye House Rockets v Edinburgh Monarchs

No-one goes to Rye House expecting a win, but in the end we were a little disappointed to go down by 6 points.

We took the lead in heat 2 and held it until heat 9, but the turning point probably came in heats 7 and 8 when we lost important points which could have seen us extend our lead.

It was an eventful night and apparently one of the best matches they have seen at Hoddesdon for some time. The drama started early with William Lawson spinning off on the first corner while Andrew Tully nipped up the inside to lead and win in the fastest time of the season!

If that shocked the homesters they had more to worry about as Aaron and Andrew comfortably took 5 from heat 2.

We were encouraged to see Ryan pass Robert Mear going into the third turn of heat 3 to take the lead. Woffinden was at the back behind Derek Sneddon and we were on a 4-2 until Mear re-passed Ryan, who then seemed to slow for the rest of the race. Woffinden only subdued the Sneddon challenge on the last lap and it was the home side who eventually took the 4-2.

Next up we had a fine ride from Matthew wethers to take Bowen from the back, with Aaron keeping key Rocket Ekberg at the back.

William Lawson led heat 5 but Woffinden was much more impressive than in his first ride, pulling off an outside overtake to win. Aaron took another good third.

We also shared heat 6 behind Neath, this time keeping the lively Mear at the back.

Heat 7 should have been a minimum 3-3 but here we made our first error. We were holding second and third behind Ekberg when Derek Sneddon made an error on the pits bend and Halsey ran into him and brought him down.

Derek was excluded and we lost a 4-2 in the rerun. Ryan again wasn?t looking quick on a track we thought would suit him.

Heat 8 was going well though, with Matthew in front and Aaron second, until Mear made a big dive into the pits bend on lap three. It was powerful enough to push Aaron out and over the track?s infamous camber, and Bowen came through as well.

We were still 2 ahead but it could have been 8 at that stage!

Woffinden won heat 9 from Tully and Wethers, and we gave Andrew another ride in heat 10 replacing Derek.

However Neath and Mear made the gate and there was no way back, with Ryan disappointing at the rear and pulling out. We had lost the lead and the Rockets? tails were up.

Halsey took his third ride in heat 11 but we could do no better than share it through William and Ryan, behind Ekberg. William led early on but gave the Swede a bit too much room round the outside.

Woffinden was now looking very impressive and headed Tully in heat 12. Sneddon made a poor start and couldn?t catch Bowen, so we were now 4 down.

We did well to share heat 13 which was rerun after Ekberg took a heavy fall on the first corner.

We then brought Andrew in to heat 13, in place of Aaron rather than Ryan, no doubt in the hope that Ryan could lift his game. However Ekberg won it and Ryan again looked out of sorts, so a Rockets? 4-2 ended the match.

William rode his best line of the match round the top of the camber to take an excellent win over Woffinden and Neath, so a 42-point total was a good one by any standards at Hoddesdon.

Ryan went out for some laps after the match, convinced that problems with his fuel had cost him points. He came in believing this was sorted.

Rye House Rockets v Edinburgh Monarchs

Following a tough encounter against the impressive Reading Racers last night, the Monarchs head south to Rye House for more Premier League action tonight.

It?s fair to say Hoddesdon hasn?t exactly been one of our more favoured venues in recent years, the one exception being a victory in 2003 when, as everybody knows (but I?ll happily mention it again!) we went on to clinch the title. However, the Rockets have made their home patch something of a fortress, so it wouldn?t be a disgrace if our only win came in the shape of the pre meeting coin toss!

Last year, we were annihilated somewhat (I?m too embarrassed to mention the score!) but there won?t be a repeat performance tonight. Survivors from that evening are Derek Sneddon, Matthew Wethers, Andrew Tully and Aaron Summers. They?ll be looking to put their previous knowledge to good use, especially when you consider all bar Summers have also ?enjoyed? track time in the colours of the sadly defunct Dale Devils.

Thomas H Jonasson misses the weekend fixtures with injuries suffered abroad on Tuesday and, as before, his rider replacement outings can be covered by Wethers, both reserves and last night?s ?pass of the season? provider, Ryan Fisher.

As far as I?m aware, this will be the American?s first trip to Hertfordshire so it should be interesting to see how he gets on (he?ll need a good set of clutch plates for this one!). Meanwhile, William Lawson has been hugely impressive in most meetings this season and will be looking for a good return at the scene of his successful visit while on World U21 duty in 2007.

The home side have been battered by injuries in various corners this season and are still troubled now. Tommy Allen and star reserve Danny Betson are both on the sidelines. Allen?s absence is covered by rider replacement (the track shop should do a good trade in pens tonight!), while Betson is replaced by youngster Daniel Halsey.

Their top man is Tai Woffinden, son of former Monarch Rob. He?s been flying ever since he appeared on the speedway scene in Australia and is definitely a World Champion in the making (that?s put the mockers on him then!) and he generally receives excellent backup from former Glasgow rider Stefan Ekberg. However, while Chris Neath hasn?t quite resembled the powerhouse of old, it?s another of the products of the Rye conveyor belt of talent who has emerged as the sensation of the season, namely Robert Mear (I don?t care if there are any other contenders, he wins hands down because he?s in my fantasy league team!). Thankfully for us, the young man has now moved into the top 5, so he?ll have fewer outings than in previous weeks in which to do damage in the points scoring department.

It promises to be an exciting encounter although, with blazing sunshine and high temperatures forecast, I have to say I hope Mr Silver has plenty water in his truck!

As always, may the best team win...

Likely (unconfirmed) line-ups:

Rockets: Chris Neath, Robert Mear, Tai Woffinden, rider replacement for Tommy Allen, Stefan Ekberg, Daniel Halsey, Luke Bowen.

Monarchs: William Lawson, rider replacement for Thomas H Jonasson, Derek Sneddon, Ryan Fisher, Matthew Wethers, Andrew Tully, Aaron Summers.