Berwick Bandits v Edinburgh Monarchs

Craig Cook led the way but a dreadful spell of six 5-1 reverses on the trot gave us little chance of taking a point in the borders.

Cook might well have scored a maximum had his bike fired up in heat 7 in which he took a TR. He pushed it all the way round to the back straight and missed the two minutes before taking the ride on Kevin Wolbert?s bike.

Having had the first three race winners, our slump left us 15-39 adrift before we came back to enjoy some successes.

Kalle?s performance was the problem, he lacked speed, or commitment, or something, and was uncompetitive in all his heats, adding insult to injury with a wheelie at the back in one heat. It won?t do and we know how much better he can ride.

The night got off to a bad start after Kevin and Matthew had made good starts in heat one. They tangled up and Matthew went heavily into the fence, breaking a couple of boards.

Kevin took the rerun with a bit to spare, and an excellent effort by Kyle Howarth saw him lead all the way in heat 2.

Next up Craig Cook was really impressive in winning heat 3 in fast time, but Andrew after showing up well early he pulled his cutout out and stopped.

So we might have been leading at this point with luck, but then our hopes took a nosedive.

Kalle inched ahead down the back straight in heat 4, but that was the last time he did anything right. He was far too tight and far too slow, and it was an easy matter for Complin and Mudgway to pass him on the obvious wider line.

Wolbert chased Smith and Franc in heat 5 with Matthew mercifully OK to race but looking uncomfortable on his second machine. So that was another 1-5.

Next up was Kalle again, an easy 5-1 to the otherwise unimpressive Gjedde/Stichauer pair.

Then came Craig?s TR debacle, so unlucky. On Wolbert?s bike off 15 metres he caught Sike fairly quickly but didn?t find any room to pass.

Matthew missed the start badly in heat 8 and though he came past his partner and closed on the opposition, that was the fifth 5-1 on the trot. With Kalle in the next one, that became the sixth.

It was looking like the mother of all thrashings, one of our worst ever, but suddenly things turned around. Tully made the start in heat 10 with Cook sitting behind for a couple of laps before going ahead. The 5-1 was ours, followed by another from Wethers and Wolbert over Complin.

Ah, so making the gate was the answer! You?d think they might have cottoned on to that earlier.

Andrew took a TR in heat 12 but lost to Smith, with Howarth taking a point from Mudgway.

Kevin confirmed that he was happy enough on the track by leading all the way in heat 13 (Kalle miles behind). It then looked as though we might take yet another 5-1, with Craig winning heat 14 easily once more and Kyle second for the best part of three laps. Unfortunately he then spun off and hit the fence quite hard, mercifully without damage.

Craig Cook rounded off a great personal performance with another win, Kevin pressing for three laps before throttling back at the rear.

We were looking for a better score obviously, but the signs are that with better fortune and better preparation from Kalle we can improve considerably.

Berwick Bandits v Edinburgh Monarchs

The Shielfield Park turnstiles should be working overtime on Saturday night (7.00) as the Edinburgh speedway fans head down the A1 for the Monarchs' first away match in defence of their Premier League title against last year's bogey team, the Berwick Bandits.

The Borderers have high hopes for their multinational side that was selected for its entertainment value but which has largely failed to fire so far. Five defeats in six matches, even though four of them were away from home, is hardly an encouraging start.

Of the three Berwick heat leaders, it?s surprisingly been Kozza Smith who has scored most points to date from the No.3 position. It will be Andrew Tully?s job to try to subdue the all-action Australian with the sky-high confidence.

Bandits? new Danish No.1, Charlie Gjedde might have been expected to head their points tally. However the former Elite League star has been coming back from long-term injury.and his scoring has been solid rather than spectacular thus far.

At third heat leader, the spectacular Lee Complin has not burst fully into life as yet either, and has been well outscored by the experienced Czech rider Josef Franc who will be pitted against Craig Cook at No.4

Another Czech rider completes the Berwick top five, also having been injured for a fair part of 2010. He is young Hynek Stichauer who could turn out to be an excellent signing. His tussles with Kalle Katajisto should be well worth watching.

The reserve slots have been where Berwick seem to have had most problems. Up-and-coming New Zealander Jade Mudgway has recorded excellent scores in his home appearances, but not too many points on unfamiliar shale.

And at No.6, the enigmatic Hungarian Tamas Sike has really struggled so far with only six points from six matches. He has even been given the dreaded ?Chairman?s vote of confidence? with an assurance that there are no team changes planned.

Berwick may have failed to perform to their best yet but rest assured that the Bandits will be fired up for this one. Shielfield is not normally a happy hunting ground for Monarchs and they will have to be sharp from the tapes if they want to change that.

A convincing win for Berwick would ignite their season whereas an away win, even by a point, for Edinburgh would give them a massive boost at this early stage of the season. Which way will it go? Join the big travelling support and find out for yourself!

Likely line-ups:

BERWICK 'A & J SCOTT' BANDITS: Charlie Gjedde, Hynek Stichauer, Kozza Smith, Josef Franc,

Lee Complin (capt.), Tamas Sike, Jade Mudgway.

SCOTWASTE MONARCHS: Kevin Wolbert, Matthew Wethers (capt.), Andrew Tully, Craig Cook, Kalle Katajisto, Ashley Morris, Kyle Howarth (guest).