Edinburgh Monarchs v Plymouth Devils

Fairly heavy drizzle pre-meeting made this match rather an endurance test, one-sided and far too long without much good racing.

The major incident of the night was a frightening crash in heat 7 from which Mark Simmonds seems to have been fortunate enough to emerge with only a broken wrist.

He was caught between Jesper Kristiansen and Tim Webster approaching the first corner, and burst forward at speed straight into and through the fence boards. He flew high into a lighting pylon before landing.

Early signs were hopeful as the veteran walked between ambulances before leaving the stadium, but the crowd had to stand around for 40 minutes while it happened.

Most of the time the home riders piled up the points, though heat 6 showed the difficulty of passing in the conditions as Kevin Wolbert queued up behind Kyle Hughes and Hynek Stichauer without finding a way past.

There was a first paid maximum for Kyle Howarth (whose presence makes Edinburgh a much more impressive side) though he was lucky to make the rerun of heat 4 after falling at the front.

Also unbeaten were Andrew Tully, looking very determined, and Craig Cook who pulled off thrilling overtakes on Devils? guest Jason Lyons in heats 13 and 15.

Lyons though was frankly a poor substitute for the missing Ben Barker. His recent form has been good but he seemed to settle far too easily for a series of modest seconds and thirds, perhaps not fancying the conditions.

There was little positive to be said for the other visiting riders, other than a reasonably competitive Kyle Hughes and one or two moments of promise from Jaimie Pickard.

Edinburgh Monarchs v Plymouth Devils

Edinburgh will be within a fingertip of fourth place in the Premier League if they can take all three points from tonight's match at Armadale (7.30) against the recently promoted side from deepest Devon, the Plymouth Devils.

In common with this year's other new PL team, Leicester, the Plyothians have been taking time to find their feet in what is a very competitive league, and certainly one which requires the bridging of a big gulf from the National League where they have been operating for the past few years.

But while they have taken only eight points from their first fourteen league matches, they are led by one of the most high profile of young British riders, Benjamin John Barker from Truro in Cornwall. Sadly, Ben is unable to ride and will be replaced by that thorn in Monarchs' side, Jason Lyons.

So that sets up a World Cup showdown of sorts in Heat 1 when one-time Australia team member Jason faces German team member Kevin Wolbert, who featured on television this week, which will have pleased his sponsors as well as giving him valuable experience for the future.

Rider replacement operates at No.2, so Monarchs skipper Matthew Wethers will face a variety of Devils. It should have been another former Stoke favourite and six times New Zealand Champion, the experienced Jason Bunyan, but his injury jinx has continued into 2011.

Andrew Tully will hope to continue his fine home form against Plymouth's No.3 Jesper Kristiansen. Incredibly, the Dane is yet another former Stoke rider! While sitting out the 2010 UK season, he also raced in New Zealand and has been making a big impact on his return to the PL.

Super Kalle Katajisto is still only 20 years old and this week he faces a rider twice his age at No.4, Mark Simmonds who did the bulk of his racing for the sadly missed Exeter Falcons. Like Ben Barker, the vastly experienced Mark is another Cornishman from Truro.

Our supercharged Cumbrian, Craig Cook, faces yet another former Stoke rider, Hynek Stichauer from the Czech Republic who has been riding well since a recent switch from Berwick. The Devils have also signed Ricky Wells but he is not expected to make his debut until next week.

Edinburgh's most recent recruit, young Tim Webster (formerly with Plymouth) lines up against Kyle Hughes, a rider from Bath in Somerset at No.6. Kyle has been around the National League for several years and has been recording some excellent scores from reserve.

Edinburgh favourite, Kyle Howarth has made a huge impact since joining the Monarchs in his first full PL season and should outshine his opposite number at No.7, Jaimie (Jay) Pickard who has ridden for the Devils in the third tier since 2006. (Note: Jay has also ridden for Stoke)

In summary, Monarchs have found a settled line-up (reserve and overseas commitments aside) whereas the Devils are a side still in transition. But there is no doubt they will finish the season much stronger than they started, and they are still missing Lee Smart (also ex-Stoke).

So Monarchs should be expected to take advantage of a Plymouth side well below what is likely to be its best. However the Devils also race on a small home track and the battles between Jason Lyons and the Monarchs top five should be well worth the admission money alone.

Likely line-ups:

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

PLYMOUTH DEVILS: Jason Lyons (guest), rider replacement for Jason Bunyan, Jesper Kristiansen, Mark Simmonds (capt.), Hynek Stichauer, Kyle Hughes, Jamie Pickard.