ONE TO GO

The Scotwaste Monarchs are on the cusp of winning the third league title in their history after beating the King's Lynn Stars 53-42 and taking all four available league points.

After taking the lead in the first heat, the Monarchs dominated the match, winning 13 of the 15 heats. The Stars only heat wins came in heats 6 and 11, where Oliver Allan and Tomas Topinka respectively were racing for double points as tactical rides.

Top scorer for the Monarchs was Kalle Katajisto, who rode to a phenomenal 15 point maximum, thoroughly enjoying his racing.

The night wasn't without controversy, however, as infamous referee Barbara Horley chose to allow all four riders back into Heat 1 when Fisher raced hard into bend 1, causing Allen slide off. The exact same situation arose in Heat 10 when Wolbert was taken out wide by Allen, and slid off in the same place, however he was deemed the cause of the stoppage and was excluded.

Wethers held a smart line in Heat 8 to hold off the advances of Star's youngster Lasse Bjerre, who eventually suffered an engine failure on the last bend, allowing Lawson to come through and take an unexpected 5-1. By this point, the Monarchs were leading by 31 points to 19.

Although the match was won by the last race, no points could be conceded in the race in order to take all four points. Katajisto and Fisher stepped up to the challenge and rode a sensational race to secure a 5-1.

The four points gained means that we now sit on 61 points in the league. Although the Newcastle Diamonds can still equal this and mathematically win the league on race points difference, it would require monumental wins from them, and massive defeats for us in all of each team's remaining fixtures.

The Monarchs now head back to Armadale for the Cock O' The North Challenge against Berwick on Friday, before heading to Stoke on Saturday looking for that final league point required to clinch the title.

Kings Lynn Stars v Edinburgh Monarchs

The weather should be perfect for Edinburgh's latest trip to Norfolk in search of Premier League points, but being league leaders means that nobody is in a hurry to do you any favours, especially the King's Lynn Stars still smarting from their KO Cup exit.

Monarchs will be faced by a very different Stars since that visit a month ago when they stunned both sets of supporters with a 22-point win. Stars have made two significant new signings but this is the first time all seven will have ridden together as a team.

Replacing the consistent scoring power of the injured Kevin Doolan at No.1 is local boy Oliver Allen, now 28 and in his thirteenth UK season. Released by Ipswich after a decade of Elite League racing, he will face Flyin' Ryan Fisher at the top of his game.

The now very experienced Matthew Wethers is paired against 16-year-old Lasse Bjerre who has been involved in only a handful of matches so far since his very recent introduction to Premier League racing. He is one for the future but cannot be underestimated.

The likeable Chris Mills returns to the team at No.3 having been unceremoniously ditched after the home defeat to Monarchs. His opposite number is Monarchs superb German find, Kevin Wolbert who can so often be a match winner and is in excellent form.

Kalle Katajisto is showing signs of getting ever closer to his very best with every appearance since his unfortunate injury but may struggle to match the enthusiastic Australian Kozza Smith who can always be counted upon to give 100% effort in the King's Lynn cause.

Tomas Topinka had a quiet match at Armadale but knows the Norfolk Arena track like the back of his hand. So Monarchs will be looking to Andrew Tully to be on the pace and match anything the 36-year-old Czech Republic rider can do.

Adam Roynon has dropped to reserve where he will be looking to start picking up easier points and regaining his confidence. It will certainly be a big challenge for Edinburgh's new No. 6 Ashley Morris in only his second appearance in Monarchs colours.

Cal McDade retains his place at No.7 for the Stars after a run of encouraging scores but will no doubt still be feeling under pressure. Step up William Lawson who has the chance to really have a massive influence on the outcome of this match.

Monarchs dominated the KO Cup match at reserve with Carl Wilkinson proving to be an excellent guest. On this occasion, William is the most experienced of the four reserves by miles and will never have a better chance to score the points everyone expects of him.

It's getting towards crunch time now and Monarchs will be keen to pick up those last few points they need to secure a remarkable third league title as soon as possible. They certainly don't want to waste all those hard-won victories that put them in this position.

These two teams look to be evenly matched, but Edinburgh's top five proved irresistible on Friday. It has been shown elsewhere in the Premier League that wholesale team changes do not necessarily bring instant success and the Stars have yet to spark as a team.

Only time will tell, but Monarchs will hope to keep the scores close throughout and to come away with at least one of the four available points as a minimum.

Likely line-ups:

KING'S LYNN STARS: Olly Allen, Lasse Bjerre, Chris Mills, Kozza Smith, Tomas Topinka, Adam Roynon, Cal McDade.

EDINBURGH SCOTWATE MONARCHS: Ryan Fisher, Matthew Wethers, Kevin Wolbert, Kalle Katajisto, Andrew Tully, Ashley Morris, William Lawson.