Edinburgh Monarchs v Newcastle Diamonds

Once again Friday was the wettest day of the week and the riders did very well to race 15 competitive heats while the rain was coming down without respite.

There?s no denying that the Newcastle heat leaders were the quickest to get to grips with the conditions and they dominated the match over the first eight heats, sharing six successive race wins from heat 3 to heat 8 after William Lawson had very encouragingly won heats 1 and 2.

William hit bad luck though he continued to ride well, and there wasn?t much luck for Ryan Fisher either. He overdid things, yes, but he could claim that Larsen?s lockup didn?t help in heat one, and of course he had been leading in heat 6 when it was stopped due to a William Lawson fall. In the rerun of that one Ryan?s bike finished up climbing the fence after he had tried to pull off an outside pass.

After that Ryan did settle down to play a full part in the fightback.

Back at the beginning, with the rain already coming down, William Lawson rode a great first turn to nip past Kenni Larsen up the back straight. We were on a 4-2 with Ryan Fisher trying to catch Larsen, but he got too close and when Larsen did lock up, down came Fisher. On the next bend it looked like Lawson?s engine cut out and everyone stopped, then restarted (including Lawson) only to find the red lights then coming on as Fisher had not cleared the track.

Lawson did it again in the rerun for an excellent win in a time of 55.0 which seemed exceptional for the conditions.

Heat 2 was stopped the first time as both Newcastle riders fell, and were generously both allowed back on the rerun. Lawson made the gate and Ashley Morris slipped past the visitors on the first corner, but was kept under pressure throughput by Roynon. That pressure paid off on the last bend as Roynon grabbed a good second.

Rene Bach and Derek Sneddon were well placed in heat 3 but Derek went straight across the pits bend and into the fence, allowing us a shared heat.

We should have shared heat 4 as well. It was easily won by Howe but Lawson?s engine stopped and restarted too late to allow him to catch Adam McKinna.

Larsen was fast away in heat 5 and when Roynon passed Katajisto, and threatened Wolbert, it looked like the Diamonds would go ahead. However Roynon spun off, his style a bit extravagant for the conditions.

Disaster was just around the corner though. We sat on a 4-2 in heat 6 with Fisher leading from Howe, when Lawson fell (apparently due to an engine cut out). In the rerun Howe was better away with Fisher trying a very adventurous passing line round the outside ? too adventurous as it turned out. Off he came, his bike standing up on the back wheel and climbing along the fence.

The heat was awarded as a 5-0, a very unfortunate turnaround. Adam McKinna had replaced Roynon who had been ruled out of the meeting, and took his score to paid 6 from 4, all gifts.

However the loss of Roynon was a blow for the Diamonds.

Bach and Sneddon then took a 4-2 with Matthew not all that comfortable in second, and we weren?t looking good for a first leg lead at 17-24.

It didn?t look any better as David Howe came in for a Jason King ride in heat 8, and won it easily.

A fight back was needed and it started at heat 9, one of the best heats of the meeting. Wolbert at last made a start and led from David Howe, with Katajisto suddenly storming under the pair of the to the front. We held the 5-1 most of the way till Howe slipped past Wolbert.

We shaved another two off the lead when Fisher led Bach home with Lawson third in heat 10. Derek Sneddon fell on the first corner ? Derek was struggling.

We were three down now and shared the next one behind Larsen. Ashley Morris got an excellent point here, getting the better of Derek Sneddon in a good battle.

Heat 12 always looked good for us, and Wolbert and Lawson made no mistake against Sneddon, out for his third ride on the trot.

That put us one point up, and we then pulled off a slightly surprising 5-1 in heat 13. Matthew made one of his best starts of the season, and Ryan slotted in well to ensure there was no comeback from Larsen and Howe.

Five ahead with only one Diamond in heat 14 meant that we only needed finishers to at least take the win. Bach duly won heat 14, but he was pointless in the last one as Larsen jetted from the tapes to win that.

47-42, pretty good after the start we made but it could have been better with fewer mistakes!

Hermiston Monarch of the Match: William Lawson.

Edinburgh Monarchs v Newcastle Diamonds

What better way to round off another speedway season at Armadale (7.30) than with the Monarchs facing Newcastle in the KO Cup Final with a great chance of adding that trophy to the 2010 Premier League Championship and Scottish Cup.

The Diamonds side were also enjoying a fantastic season until injuries began to disrupt the team just as they began a series of matches, each one of which was more crucial than the last. And the KO Cup's destination will be decided by which team covers best for injuries.

In that respect, Monarchs would seem to have by far the tougher task over two legs because while both sides are without the riders who regularly filled their No.5 slots, Newcastle have guest cover while Edinburgh are forced to go with rider replacement for Andrew Tully.

So while only one of Andrew's four rides can be taken by a team-mate in the top five, Kalle Katajisto, Newcastle's Mark Lemon is replaced by another Armadale specialist, David Howe. It hardly seems fair, but that's the anomalies the speedway rulebook throws up.

Diamonds also have rider replacement for Jason King at No.2, which again could bring more points than a rider who has never been known to particularly shine at the Scotwaste Arena. This may be balanced out by the absence of Dakota North who is replaced by Adam Roynon.

So the very strong spearhead of Kenni Larsen, Rene Bach and David Howe will have to be matched by Monarchs remaining multinational big three of American Ryan Fisher, German Kevin Wolbert and Australian Matthew Wethers.

The rising star of Finnish speedway, Kalle Katajisto will hope to outscore former Monarchs captain Derek Sneddon who has been enjoying a very successful spell on Tyneside. That leaves the battle of the reserves which could be crucial.

Monarchs will hope to have the edge over the two legs in this department where Diamonds may be a little weaker with Adam McKinna and Adam Roynon, both of whom have been seriously held back in their speedway careers by injury.

Ashley Morris looked very lively in his last Armadale meeting where he has settled in steadily. But yet again the focus falls on William Lawson who could be the ace in Monarchs' pack over the two legs if he can show the form everyone knows is there.

Once again, Monarchs host the first leg of a final, not knowing how many points of a lead they might need for the return, this time at Newcastle Stadium on Sunday night. Mind you, Newcastle cracked when the pressure was on in the league match, so maybe any lead would do.

But this will be a close one and it could turn on just one incident, a fall, an engine failure, a tapes offence or even just the track conditions favouring some riders over others. That's part of the beauty of speedway ? there are so many variables that it's never predictable.

This was at one time supposed to be the Farewell to Armadale meeting which has now become the KO Cup Final instead. But one way or another its your last ever chance to see these six Monarchs race together at Armadale. So get along and cheer your favourites to a convincing victory.

Likely line-ups:

SCOTWASTE MONARCHS: Ryan Fisher, rider replacement for Andrew Tully, Kevin Wolbert, Kalle Katajisto, Matthew Wethers (capt.), Ashley Morris, William Lawson.

NEWCASTLE SAPPHIRE ENGINEERING DIAMONDS: Kenni Larsen, rider replacement for Jason King, Derek Sneddon (capt.), Rene Bach, David Howe, Adam Roynon, Adam McKinna.