Edinburgh Monarchs v Berwick Bandits

Visits from Berwick have rarely resulted in close matches, but this one was beyond a joke as a very dull meeting stretched way beyond the two-hour mark.

Injuries did not help but were by no means the only reason for the crowd?s boredom. On the Bandits? side, Paul Clews was well up to his usual exciting standard until he crashed while leading heat 12. Jade Mudgway worked hard and did well on his Armadale debut, and at least Makovsky and Andersen kept coming out for their rides.

Craig Branney might have made a reasonable contribution had he not been involved in the mayhem in heat 2. But as for Adrian Rymel, ostensibly the no. 1, well?

The word ?uninterested? is used too often to describe riders who are struggling. You would have to be nuts to be uninterested when your livelihood is at stake.

But that is what it looked like with Rymel, who has had race wins in his time at Armadale but who was absolutely useless in this match. He was squeezed out on the first turn of heat 1 and dribbled round at the back, took a third ahead of his partner in heat 5, then had to go off 15 metres in heat 11 after a bike problem.

He never looked like catching anyone, then didn?t reappear for heat 13, subjecting poor Anders Andersen to another no-chance outing.

How can we expect supporters to pay good admission money to watch this? Rymel is a cheery likeable guy but he owes the public an apology for this effort.

The home side made hay, all scoring at least paid 8 (other than the unlucky Max) and all recording wins or paid wins. But it was hard to judge how good they were against poor opposition. Certainly the Wolbert-Wethers pair was devastating and this week, Ryan Fisher encountered no problems on his way to a 15-point maximum.

After a heat 1 5-1 (Tabaka?s first paid win), Monarchs were again lying first and second when Max Dilger?s bike snapped in two entering the third corner! Apparently the carbon fibre bracket on the forks snapped. It could have been truly nasty, and as it was it took Max out of the match with a hand injury, and Craig Branney (who was right behind) withdrew after winning the rerun and then running a last in heat 4.

Katajisto was unlucky as he had been well ahead when heat 2 was stopped. He had to pass Andersen in the rerun for second place.

Berwick used their no. 8 as rider replacement in heat 3 and he lasted as far as the first bend as the two Ws took their first 5-1 easily.

The lead was stretched to 14 by heat 6 with little else worth commenting on in the racing. Bandits then surprisingly used the TR with Makovsky in heat 7, rather than Clews who was off gate 4 which was working well.

Clews duly won the heat from the back against Katajisto (doing well but struggling with a big-track engine) and Makovsky scored nothing after being passed by Tully. This was the best heat of the night.

Heat 8 was a big win for Jozsef Tabaka, his first for the team, and although it wasn?t really a hard heat, his time was a satisfactory 57.5.

On we went, a 5-1 in heat 9 and a 4-2 in heat 11 with at least a reasonable chase in the latter by Clews on Fisher.

From this point the match seemed to slow down. Rymel went off 15 metres in heat 11, and Mudgway took advantage of an error by Katajisto to get second spot.

Clews swept ahead of Katajisto and Wolbert in heat 12, but lifted and crashed on the second bend of lap 2. That was Clews out of the match, regrettably, and also regrettably we had to watch a rerun with Andersen on his own.

Makovsky crashed in heat 13 (before the end of lap 2) and yes, due to that stupid rule the promoters brought in a year or two back, we had another rerun with Anders Andersen on his own. The stoppage was questionable anyway as Makovsky was clear of the track, and the fence was dislodged but not in a way that posed any danger.

Heat 14 ? well no Paul Clews, and ? it was Anders Andersen on his own again! This time he made a start and made Kalle fight for second till he pulled off a good outside pass.

Andersen wasn?t in heat 15, but Mudgway was ? he had been steady in previous heats but got carried away here and fell twice, subjecting us to yet another rerun and yet another walkover 5-1.

Mercifully, that was the end.

Edinburgh Monarchs v Berwick Bandits

This week gives us the first chance to run the rule over our new-look country cousins from down the A1 when the marauding Berwick Bandits ride into Armadale intent on stealing the Premier Trophy points.

There's seldom a lack of incident when the side from Tweedmouth tries to master the tight turns of the Scotwaste Arena which is so very different from their home circuit where each race is nearly a quarter of a mile longer. So you'd be well advised not to take your eyes off the action for a second.

Having finished 14th of 16 last year and stung by some overseas rider absences, it's maybe not surprising that Bandits have retained only two from last year's roster. The new brooms have swept away Stan Burza, Tero Aarnio, Guglielmo Franchetti, Tamas Sike, Josef Franc, William Lawson, Danny Warwick and Greg Blair.

The 2010 side is still based around the remarkable Michal Makovsky who liked Berwick so much he stayed for 10 years! And, after a year away at Workington, his Czech Republic pal, Adrian Rymel, returns as No.1 to the club he too first joined in 2001 after one of Peter Waite's many continental forays. Adrian over-wintered in Argentina where he won their 12-round national championship, so he should be sharp.

The team is captained by the experienced Paul Clews, on loan from Birmingham, who travels up from Daventry every week. His crowd-pleasing riding is just what the new Bandits' management are looking for in their 'back to basics' quest for an all-round enjoyable Saturday night out at Shielfield Park with close, exciting racing as the centrepiece.

But atrocious luck has already robbed them of two first-choice English riders, Nick Simmons and the man they hoped would provide the fireworks in the middle order, Lee Complin. This could leave their biggest gamble, young New Zealander Jade Mudgway, a bit exposed. His exciting style may initially be more suited to his home track, but we'll soon find out.

Berwick's reserves could prove a strong point. Cumbrian racer Craig Branney should never be under-estimated and the promising young Dane, Anders Andersen, will be keen to make his mark after a serious leg break cut short his steady progress with Glasgow.

So while promoter John Anderson may say he is only looking for a top-half finish this year, there is enough talent and experience in this team to spring a few surprises. Just ask Newcastle who won at Berwick only to be held to a draw at Brough Park! Or Workington who found a visit by the Bandits too hot to handle.

Monarchs will be keen to impose themselves early and avoid any repeat of last Friday's upset. How they react to such a setback will be a true test of their mettle. It's a chance for all concerned, riders, fans and management, to pull together and show why this club deserves to be up there with the best.

Likely line-ups:

Monarchs: Ryan Fisher, Joszef Tabaka, Kevin Wolbert, Matthew Wethers, Andrew Tully, Max Dilger, Kalle Katajisto

Bandits: Adrian Rymel, Jade Mudgway, Lee Complin r/r, Paul Clews, Michal Makovsky, Anders Andersen, Craig Branney