Berwick Bandits v Edinburgh Monarchs

Berwick lost their high-scoring reserve Craig Branney as early as heat 4, but we weren?t good enough to capitalise and could only take one point from the match.

Max Dilger?s fitness was highly questionable, though he did manage a heat 2 point, and Jozsef Tabaka didn?t score on his Berwick debut, so it was really a five-man effort. Other than Fisher, there was too much inconsistency for us to seriously challenge the Bandits.

Berwick chose as the entertainer of the night their New Zealander Jade Mudgway, and it was impossible to argue with that ? what a find he is. Rymel unsurprisingly put Friday?s dismal showing behind him and rode unbeaten till the last heat, and both Clews and Makovsky were in double figures though we restricted them to 3 race wins in 11 rides.

All the fallers from Friday night were back in action even if they were certainly not fully recovered.

The opening heat was a processional 4-2 to the Bandits, then we levelled as Kalle led and looked spectacular in heat 2. Max managed a good point, fighting off early pressure from Andersen.

Kevin made the start in heat 3 but from gate 1 he could not stop Clews and Makovsky romping round him. Matthew had to make a late switch to Ryan Fisher?s bike and didn?t score.

Never fear ? we levelled up straight away and somewhat unexpectedly ? Andrew led all the way in heat 4 from Kalle with the challenge coming from Branney rather than Makovsky. On the final turn Branney fell and needed attention.

This lasted for ages and presumably his injuries were something to do with his Friday tumble as well. Eventually he was ruled out of the meeting and we got back to the action.

Fisher beat Clews in heat 5 but Jozsef?s second ride was the same as his first ? slow gate, inside line, no points. No-one expects miracles but we do need to see signs of improvement.

Mudgway was at his best in heat 6, passing Andrew Tully to set up a 5-1 with Rymel. Again, too much inside line at Berwick invites overtakes. Max retired at the back and we wondered if we would see him again.

Matthew was back on his own machine for heat 7 and raced clear of Makovsky for an excellent win. With Kevin third we reduced the gap.

Heat 8 should have been a chance to make some headway but it wasn?t to be ? Mudgway won it and Jozsef once again trailed disappointingly behind Andersen.

Kalle did much better in heat 9, leading all the way from Clews. It looked like a shared heat as Andrew persisted with the inside line trying to pass Andersen, but on the last corner he went for the wide line and sailed into third.

Rymel was looking untouchable and made it three wins in heat 11, but we managed to keep Mudgway at the back. It was a good ride from Matthew, stuck in third with Kevin not all that quick and the Kiwi snapping at his heels.

Our strong man was Ryan, and he had to race twice to beat Makovsky in heat 11. He led the first time, only for Max to fall at the back. The stoppage was a bit premature but Ryan won the heat anyway.

Max had replaced Jozsef to get his third ride out of the way, allowing Kalle to come in to heat 12. Kevin made a decent start but Kalle didn?t, and he couldn?t improve on fourth place. That left us still two points down.

The first start of heat 13 was a total disgrace. Rymel on gate 1 pulled back late to realign himself, and Fisher looked round to see what he was doing. As he moved his head back (with Rymel still a yard or more from the start line) the tapes went up!

The heat should have been stopped at that point but it wasn?t, and in trying to regain lost ground Ryan clipped Andrew. Referee Horley could not even get that right and excluded Andrew.

Ryan missed the start in the rerun, shot round Rymel and hared after Makovsky into the third turn ? and fell off. So that put us six down, extended to a match-winning 8 in heat 14 as Matthew pressed but didn?t pass Clews, and Kalle did likewise again with Andersen.

Kalle?s two lasts cost us dear, though we can?t expect consistency from the young Finn at such an early stage.

So all that was left was to try to retrieve a point in the last heat. We lost the toss, and the home pair of Rymel and Makovsky hit the front off gates 2 and 4. They both went for the outside ? and messed each other up on the second bend. Ryan needed no second bidding, racing past them both, and Matthew edged into third ahead of Makovsky to grab us one match point.

Berwick Bandits v Edinburgh Monarchs

After such a crushing win last night at Armadale, the large contingent of Monarchs fans who normally take advantage of the short journey down the A1 to see their heroes in away action will do so in much more optimistic mood than would have been the case only a week ago.

Berwick have the chance to even the score when home track advantage swings strongly in their favour, but having come off decidedly second best only 24 hours earlier it remains to be seen how much this will affect them.

These two-in-two day, double header matches are great for the fans but they can be costly in terms of men and machinery if things go wrong, as Newcastle found out against Glasgow last week. It gives so little time to recover and come out as strongly and well prepared as you'd like to be.

So in that department it seemed Monarchs also came out on top with only Max Dilger having to withdraw from the meeting, whereas for the Bandits, neither Paul Clews nor Craig Branney saw it through to the end of a bruising evening after heavy tumbles.

On a night when so few Bandits were at their best, it didn't help Berwick's cause that they had to cover for the injured Lee Complin. Both No.1 Adrian Rymel and No.8 John McPhail, who was given two rides, had nights they will want to quickly forget.

Having said all that, Berwick are always an entirely different prospect on their own circuit and Monarchs will have to contain the Bandits early on to keep the meeting close and give themselves a chance of coming away with the points they so desperately need.

Rymel, Makovsky and Clews (if fit) are real Shielfield track experts. New Zealander, Jade Mudgway, and reserve, Anders Andersen, both visibly grew in confidence as the match went on last night, and Craig Branney (again if fit) could also figure prominently.

For Monarchs, they will have picked up a huge measure of confidence from a devastating display of dominance, completely turning the tables on the disappointing events of the previous week. They all performed well enough to enjoy a welcome big pay night.

Ryan will be delighted to have gone through the card unbeaten, and with Kevin, Andrew and Matthew dropping only one point to an opponent between the three of them, you can't ask for much better than that.

It remains to be seen if Max Dilger will be fit to race after injuring his hand when the front end of his bike collapsed on him, an accident that could have been so very much worse. But in Jozsef Tabaka and Kalle Katajisto, Monarchs have found a couple of real match winners.

So in this topsy turvy start to the season, it's impossible to predict the outcome. It's a question of whether Monarchs' confidence boost and latent talent can overcome the Bandits' mastery of their own track. Gating will be crucial. It should be a cracker!

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