Somerset Rebels v Edinburgh Monarchs

There wasn?t a lot to race for in our final league match at Somerset but we still turned in another good display to take a draw and two points.

Ryan Fisher again gave a tremendous performance and he just seems to be getting better. Matthew Wethers is always good at Somerset and in spite of two very poor gates he still took 10 points (including the vital point in heat 15) while Kalle was also excellent with his 10 from 4. He had ridden a match at Somerset in 2007.

We have become used to making a strong start and this was no different, Matthew and Ryan racing away from the opening Rebels? pair of Hefenbrock and Hawkins.

William Lawson managed to get into second in heat 2 but the home guest Simon Lambert was a good winner, and he was to prove a good choice standing in for James Holder.

Scores were levelled in heat 2 as Kevin missed the gate and Kalle split the powerful home pair of Masters and Parker. Parker didn?t look very quick.

Andrew Tully did look quick though as he easily won heat 4 in the fastest time of the night. Lambert beat Lawson again for the point.

The power pairs clashed in heat 5 but again it was no problem for Fisher who won easily. Matthew took third ahead of Parker with Masters between the Monarchs.

We were two points up but Somerset reversed that as Andrew could not improve on third place against their opening pair, a rather disappointing result.

We were on a 5-1 in heat 7 with Katajisto leading, but Gathercole came past Wolbert rather easily on lap three, and the scores were levelled.

Heat 8 was entertaining though Hawkins won easily. Matthew had completely muffed the start and had to work his way past Lambert while protecting William Lawson in second spot. He did it in style for a shared reace.

Parker got going in heat 9 to take a win but Andrew did well to hold off Masters. That put Rebels in front again.

Next race winner was Hefenbrock who headed Kalle and Kevin, but the lead swung our way again in heat 11, a big 5-1 from Matthew and Ryan over Gathercole, who was rather subdued.

Lo and behold the lead swung back to Somerset in the next one. Masters won it but Kevin was lying second until he gifted third to Lambert, who had again pushed William Lawson to the back.

Fisher continued to dominate with a comfortable heat 13 win, but Andrew?s efforts could not carry him past the home pair.

Kalle completed a great [personal show by winning heat 14 from Parker. William tried very hard on the outside line to get round Parker and Lambert for at least a point, but he found Parker justa bit too crafty.

So we went into the last heat two points down, and fielded Fisher and Wethers against Hefenbrock and Masters. Matthew had the best gate, no. 4, but got a terrible start as Fisher romped off again. Hefenbrock looked dangerous as he surged into the pits corner, but Ryan had enough on the outside to stay ahead. Meanwhile Matthew got on the tail of Masters and pulled off a very clever pass, going in wide and turning back up the inside to secure the point.

A fair enough result and a good finish to our most impressive league campaign yet.

Somerset Rebels v Edinburgh Monarchs

Edinburgh will look to extend their incredible run of success on Wednesday (7.30) when they make the long trip to the neat 300 metre racing strip designed by Glyn Taylor that is the Oak Tree Arena, home of the Somerset Rebels.

The Rebels have been far from unbeatable at home, losing five times in front of their own fans and drawing 45-45 in front of the Sky TV cameras against Glasgow. The favourite losing score is 42-48 (four times) and 46-47 once.

But it still takes the best sides to win there since Rye House did it twice early in the season, followed by Birmingham twice and finally Newcastle. However Monarchs certainly have the credentials to win, being a staggering 41 league points ahead of the Rebels.

Ryan Fisher lines up at No,1 against 25-year-old German, Christian Hefenbrock. Having ridden for five different Elite League clubs, Christian looks a very good replacement for the struggling Lubos Tomicek who once replaced him at Lakeside.

At No.2, Matthew Wethers faces the young up-and-coming Australian, Cory Gathercole, second cousin of Leigh Adams. Cory failed to trouble the scorers in his recent visit to Armadale but will be an entirely different prospect on his home track.

Monarchs match-winning German ace,Kevin Wolbert opposes far-travelled 26-year-old Ritchie Hawkins from Peterborough. Ritchie is another who had a relatively quiet night at Armadale but has been enjoying a successful season relatively free of injury.

Kalle Katajisto is showing his top form again and faces young Australian hot-shot, Sam Masters, who performed very impressively with an 11-point score at Armadale in his first UK season. Somerset won a six-club race to sign him and he looks like a star in the making.

Andrew Tully may have the hardest job of the lot against his opposite number at No.5, former Glasgow favourite Shane Parker. The 21-year veteran turned in a vintage performance on his last Armadale visit with three heat wins and is always good for double figures at home.

The precocious 16-year-old talent that is Ashley Morris takes on young Manchester-born Kyle Howarth, now in his second UK season and having been elevated from the Bournemouth Buccaneers side to replace Jake Anderson, now with Glasgow.

William Lawson, burst fully into life last Friday and will face a lively guest at No.7 in Simon Lambert, the King?s Lynn based rider booked in as replacement for the injured James Holder. Simon impressed with a paid 10 in Somerset?s last home match against Newport.

Somerset are hoping that with Monarchs having already wrapped up the Premier League title, they will have their thoughts on the KO Cup and Play-off matches to come, but the boys in blue and gold will be looking to win every available point as always.

The racing is sure to be much closer this time than what turned out to be a fairly one-sided match at the Scotwaste Arena. The weather looks set fair this time so track conditions should be good and Monarchs will not want to come back empty handed.

The Rebels have re-jigged their riding order this time but Monarchs have enough fire power right through the side to make life hot for this Somerset septet.

Likely line-ups:

SOMERSET 'DICKIES' REBELS: Christian Hefenbrock, Cory Gathercole, Ritchie Hawkins, Sam Masters, Shane Parker, Kyle Howarth, Simon Lambert (guest).

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