Edinburgh Monarchs v Newport Wasps

A difficult track and some controversial refereeing didn?t stop the Monarchs taking all three points against a fairly impressive Newport side.

Certainly Leigh Lanham proved to be one of the best visitors of the year, unbeaten apart from heat 13, and both Chris Kerr and Jordan Frampton rode well.

Again all of the home side scored points, but nobody was dominant and the gating was decidedly ordinary.

We were off to a bad start as Fisher came down on the first corner. It looked like a case for a race stoppage with Kerr taking his front wheel in mucky conditions, but the ref?s finger did not hit the button, much to Fisher?s loudly expressed disgust.

To make matters worse, Aaron Summers tumbled later in the heat and remounted to see the Wasps picking up five points.

The first corner in heat 2 was an even bigger shambles as Rutherford and Holder tangled. Holder was excluded but confusion reigned as he came out a further two times, the message that he was ruled out apparently failing to transmit to the pits.

Rutherford should probably have been ruled out too as enough time elapsed to take up two sets of two minutes, but he was allowed to start off 15 metres, dribble round and fall once to take a point. That was the last we saw of Shelby Rutherford, though he didn?t seem seriously hurt.

Paul Fry was the next faller as Rajkowski used the outside line well and Tully rode alongside him for another 5-1.

Jordan Frampton made the start in heat 4 and looked impressive. Matthew Wethers made up some ground but could not find a passing line while Sean Stoddart was well tailed off.

Tully was the next faller, spinning off on the first corner of heat 5. Lanham and Kerr led the way but Rajkowski took advantage of the fact that Kerr was swinging across the turns to come through and take second spot. The scores were now level and we were not looking comfortable at all.

Fisher was unlucky in heat 1, but his fall in heat 6 was all on his own. As he trudged back to the pits looking sheepish, Rajkowski rode well again to lead Frampton all the way.

Wasps? middle pair was struggling and although Fry led for the first lap, he fell and gave the following Wethers and Summers a hard job to avoid him. The home pair easily took 5 over the struggling Andersson in the rerun.

The same pair were straight out for Monarchs in heat 8, but this time they were beaten by a steady ride from Chris Kerr. It was good to see the American riding well after recent struggles.

Rajkowski made another good start in heat 9 but a hard first turn by Frampton drove him wide, into the deep dirt and down.

The rerun went to Tully who, with the track improving, looked really fats and recorded a time far faster than anything else to that point.

It was still only a 4-point lead though and Monarchs needed to steady up ? four costly falls so far. Over the next few heats things got better.

Fisher and Tully capitalised on that weak middle pair to push us 8 ahead in heat 10 ? Ryan?s first points of the night.

The 5-1 seemed certain to be reversed in heat 11. Matthew Wethers was gating poorly and he trailed Kerr and Lanham. Kerr was out in the dirt and hanging on, with Lanham shepherding expertly, but on the final corner Kerr came down and caused his partner to fall also.

The ref got this one right and awarded the heat to Lanham. But the Monarchs got out of jail there.

Rajkowski and Summers rode a good race to take 5 from heat 12, Summers team riding well and blocking Holder?s efforts.

That left us facing a tricky heat 13. Lanham had been untroubled and took the TR, and Frampton was going well too. He made a good start indeed, but ran wide and lost control in the grip. That left a gap which Wethers and Fisher were perfectly placed to take advantage of, and the 5-1 there was welcome and virtually closed out the match.

The first corner of heat 14 was another disaster. Fry gated well but locked up, Tully had no option but to put the bike down and Holder also took avoiding action.

The decision? Nothing. The race went on, Summers went to the front and won, and Holder took 4 after Fry slowed to walking pace to let him by. Tully walked back and could not be restrained from letting the referee know his feelings.

All three points were secured and with our better gaters Rajkowski and Fisher not fielded in the last heat, we lost it 5-1 to Lanham and Kerr who had both had an excellent night.

HERMISTON MONARCH OF THE MATCH: Aaron Summers

Edinburgh Monarchs v Newport Wasps

This week we welcome the Newport Wasps to Armadale with a new look team to that which has struggled over the last few weeks. Newport have never been successful visitors to the Dale but can the new look squad get off to a winning start?

Well no! is the likely answer. They have dispensed with the services of Mark Lemon and Brent Werner to include Leigh Lanham and Jonas Andersson in an attempt to shore up a side which was rapidly going nowhere this season. The big surprise was letting Lemon go because, although not exactly one of the top heat leaders these days, he still has an average of 7.38 for the season so far and was by far the Wasps' best rider. Leigh Lanham was recently dropped by Lakeside and is expected to become one of the Premier League's top men but, if that is to happen, it may not happen overnight.

Brent Werner had started to struggle badly on some away tracks and more and more was relying solely on his gating to score any points at all. His departure was no surprise but little is known about his replacement, Swedish Elite League rider Jonas Andersson, other than that he managed to score 8 points in the Welsh Open last Sunday and looked a promising recruit for the Welsh side.

Neither rider would probably have chosen Armadale as the track at which they would make their d?buts for the Wasps and I would be surprised if either managed big double figure scores. However Lanham is an experienced Elite League rider and will surely top score for the visitors. But where is his support to come from if the Wasps are to come close to success? Paul Fry has had some very poor meetings at the Dale and probably has a strong dislike of the place. Chris Kerr, on the other hand, has shown flashes of good form on the track and always gives it his best shot. However he has a tendency to fall and to have some poor rides home and away. Jordan Frampton is much more likely to provide the main back up to Lanham. He joined the Wasps from Somerset Rebels at the start of the season but hasn't looked nearly as much of a threat as he did last year in the successful Rebels' side. This brings us to the two reserves, Shelby Rutherford and James Holder. I doubt whether Rutherford, another recent addition to the Wasps' ranks, has even seen Armadale let alone ride the track and having just been elevated from the National League he will surely take some time to get the hang of how to ride the Dale. Holder is the senior reserve and has had some moderate success but not enough to make him much of a threat.

If all of this sounds rather dismissal of the Newport team I would claim it is a realistic assessment of how strongly (or weakly) they are likely to challenge for the points. Speedway can throw up some unlikely results but a win on Friday night for them would be an absolute sensation.

Again Edinburgh have to use Rider Replacement for the space vacated by Thomas H Jonasson so there will be pressure on all the side to pull their weight, although they are used to it. Ryan Fisher is no longer eligible for a R/R ride as the new averages kick in for this match which relegate Thomas to third in the averages. Every other rider in the side is eligible however and that should be enough to see the Monarchs home to a full three point win. Indeed if we can come up with a suitable replacement for Thomas H Jonasson, July could see the team make the same thrust to the top of the league that they made last year. Fighting on so many different fronts won't be easy but there could be some exciting times ahead.

As ever may the better team win (unless it's the Wasps). The likely line ups are:

Edinburgh: Ryan Fisher, Thomas H Jonasson (R/R), Michal Rajkowski, Andrew Tully, Matthew Wethers, Aaron Summers, Sean Stoddart.

Newport: Leigh Lanham, Chris Kerr, Jonas Andersson, Paul Fry, Jordan Frampton, Shelby Rutherford, James Holder.