Edinburgh Monarchs v Ipswich Witches

Weakened teams and injuries during the match were the downside of this fixture, but on the other hand there was some very good racing and a courageous performance by Monarchs to take all 3 points.

Lasse Bjerre and Morten Risager were missing from the Witches with Derek Sneddon and rider replacement (all riders) to compensate, while on the home side Kalle Katajisto was away.

Add to that Craig Cook missing his last three rides after a heat 8 crash, and Chris Mills out after another crash in the same heat, and you might think this would be a night to forget. But it wasn?t really, in spite of delays it was an entertaining night overall.

We started with a tumble, Taylor Poole coming off on the first corner and earning an exclusion. Wethers and Wolbert got the better of the first corner in the rerun but Kevin didn?t get round Matthew to set up their usual team riding situation, which allowed Kevin Doolan to slip into second.

Heat 2 is always unpredictable, and the Ipswich pair made the start. Kyle Howarth worked his way past Hart to limit the damage while Gary Irving managed the four laps on his Armadale debut, but at the back.

Poole again showed his gating ability in heat 3 and he looked very lively, but Andrew Tully caught him coming off the second bend of lap three. Matthew Wethers then closed in and made his move down the back straight on the final lap, turning hard and coming through brilliantly up the last straight to complete the 5-1.

Heat 4 was a much easier 5-1 with Howarth again riding a good steady race to back Cook, heading Chris Mills and a struggling Schramm.

Heat 5 would probably be most people?s choice for race of the season at this stage. Poole aagain gated like a rocket from Tully, and Doolan did really well to work his way round Andrew into second spot. Undaunted Andrew went back to the outside and swept back into second, then set out after Poole. Meanwhile Wethers had slipped inside Doolan. Tully reeled Poole in and the pair went over the line together, while at the same time Doolan got back round Wethers again.

The result should PROBABLY have been: Tully and Poole (dead heat), Doolan, Wethers, a 3.5-2.5 for Ipswich, but was called as Poole, Tully, Wethers, Doolan, a 3-3.

Schramm?s struggles continued in heat 6 as Wolbert and Howarth went ahead, but Kyle seemed to slow towards the end of the race, with Hart apparently catching him on the line. However the ref gave Kyle the point!

We were now 24-12 ahead and Doolan took a TR as rider replacement. Witches gated on a 5-1 with Sneddon ahead of Cook when Gary Irving fell at the back, and the heat was stopped.

Positions were the same in the rerun but Cook got round Sneddon, which meant the Witches had a 7-2.

Bad one for Monarchs, and it got worse in heat 8. Cook had made the start from gate 4 but Poole straightened going into the turn, possibly with a little assistance from inside him, and knocked Craig into the fence. It was clearly a nasty one and it was good after a few minutes to see him rise. However he was not fit to carry on.

It was all four back, which didn?t please the home fans. Gary Irving took Craig?s ride, but Ipswich suffered in the heat as well when Chris Mills crashed at the next attempt. He was excluded, and finally Poole won the heat with our reserves sharing it.

We now knew we would almost certainly lose a maximum advantage in heat 11 with Craig out, so we needed to press on before we got to that one. Andrew and Matthew made no mistake in heat 9 as Schramm conceded his third 1-5.

Derek Sneddon was excluded for a first bend fall in heat 10, and with Schramm as rider replacement it seemed we were bound to take an advantage from heat 10 ? meaning a TR in heat 11!

However Schramm suddenly made a start and led all the way, which might have looked like a tactical move from Monarchs but almost certainly was not!

So heat 11 was the inevitable 1-5 rather than 1-8 with Gary Irving out on his own (Kyle needed for later heats) and doing his job by riding steadily for the point.

Heat 12 was another heat we wanted something from and Andrew made no mistake, with Kyle close to Derek Sneddon but settling for the point.

So we were 9 points up with three heats left, but Irving in for Cook in heat 13. Kevin wasn?t at his best but he managed to take second behind Doolan.

Heat 14 was another easier one and Matthew Wethers won it efficiently, with Kyle again getting the point which ensured we had won on the night.

Nine up but we needed to avoid a 1-5 in the final heat to ensure all three points.

Andrew and Matthew have ridden many great first turns at Armadale and they both pulled off excellent moves, Andrew round the outside and Matthew a lovely cutback to go clear and take a maximum 5-1. 53-40 looks quite comfortable but in the circumstances, it was a win we had to work for.

Edinburgh Monarchs v Ipswich Witches

This Friday sees one of the most eagerly awaited fixtures of the season when the title favourites, the Ipswich Witches, newly stepped down from 40 years of British League and Elite League speedway, make their first ever visit to Armadale (7.30).

Unfortunately though, neither side will be at full strength. Two of the top Ipswich performers, Danish stars Lasse Bjerre and Morten Risager will be missing. The younger brother of Grand Prix rider Kenneth Bjerre must ride in the Danish Championship and Risager was due to take part too.

However, he suffered a terrible hand injury at Rye House on Monday when he lost a finger after his bike lifted coming out of the fourth bend in Heat 7 and he collided at high speed with the chain link fence. The finger has now been re-attached and everyone is desperately hoping for a successful outcome.

On the other side of the pits, Monarchs will be without Kalle Katajisto who has also been called away to international duty and Lee Dicken who has a pre-arranged engagement elsewhere. The result is that there a lot more variables to ponder than normal, not least track conditions now that the drought has ended.

On the rider front, Ipswich have chosen fans favourite, Derek Sneddon as a guest at No.4 who knows the Armadale track better than most of the home riders, having ridden it more often than Kalle has had hot dinners. Derek will have a variety of partners because rider replacement operates at No.3.

Top pairing for Witches are Australians Kevin Doolan and Taylor Poole who would grace any Premier League side ? and some Elite League sides too. One time show jumper, Chris Schramm from Essex makes one of his regular Armadale appearances for different clubs, this time at No.5 for Ipswich.

A particularly strong looking pair of reserves complete the Witches line-up. Local Ipswich lad Jerran Hart has moved on after a couple of seasons with Scunthorpe and another Essex racer Chris Mills partners him at No.7. One or other will have extra rides, and their scoring could have a big bearing on the outcome.

Monarchs look the better balanced of the two teams since rider replacement should not be too much of a penalty for Kalle, a rider who has been inconsistent this season. Gary Irving, coming in for Lee Dicken, can only improve on Lee's blank scoresheet in his first races on this side of the great East/West divide.

Monarchs were in rampant form last week and will have to carry that level of determination through to this match if they want to come out on top. Ipswich are a team who are already used to winning both home and away this season and that can be a hard habit to break. This should be a cracker!

Likely line-ups:

EDINBURGH SCOTWASTE MONARCHS: Kevin Wolbert, rider replacement for Kalle Katajisto, Andrew Tully, Matthew Wethers (capt.), Craig Cook, Gary Irving (guest), Kyle Howarth.

IPSWICH SACKERS WITCHES: Kevin Doolan (capt.), Taylor Poole,rider replacement for Lasse Bjerre, Derek Sneddon (guest), Chris Schramm, Jerran Hart, Chris Mills.