Edinburgh Monarchs v Rye House Rockets

The Scotwaste Monarchs held the upper hand throughout against Rye House, though not for the first time it was powerful riding over the second half of the match which really settled matters.

Rockets were by no means poor though a couple of their top five, specifically Brundle and Hawkins, didn?t get to grips with things. They had good reserves in Nelson and Bowen but Jordan Frampton has had better evenings at Armadale.

The top five Monarchs were in fine form and Tim Webster had his best meeting so far. Only Kyle Howarth had an off night, but this wasn?t a matter of much concern.

The first heat was an efficient 5-1 from Kevin Wolbert and Kalle Katajisto over the normally speedy Frampton, with Kalle showing early signs of the kind of controlled and sensible riding we are looking for from him.

The Rockets reserves are strong and it was not a great surprise that we lost heat 2, though it was a surprise that Kyle Howarth finished well at the back with Tim Webster riding steadily to split the Rockets, beating Bowen with a bit to spare.

Andrew Tully continued recent excellent home form with a comfortable win in heat 3, and he was joined down the back straight by Matthew Wethers. However Matthew?s inside line proved vulnerable and Chris Neath rounded him, and held second.

Heat 4 might well have been stopped as Nelson two-wheeled across the first corner, forcing Cook out to the fence to avoid him. However on it went and Kyle Howarth held the lead from the hard-pressing Boxall, who eventually got up inside Kyle going into the third bend of lap three. Kyle came down, and it was the usual awkward decision for the referee who can?t see well from his position.

He chose to exclude Howarth and award the result.

Tully and Wethers wasted no time in pushing Monarchs on again, beating Frampton with a bit to spare, and clearly Rockets? no. 1 was not as formidable as usual.

Kalle moved smoothly ahead of heat 6 and we waited for Kevin Wolbert to do something about his bad start, but rather disappointingly he didn?t even manage much of a challenge on the third-placed Bowen.

Neath beat Cook in heat 7 but most people were probably watching third spot as Tim Webster again did well to beat the more experienced Hawkins.

Monarchs were on a 4-2 in heat 8 but Howarth?s nightmare continued as he fell trying to challenge Nelson on lap 2. Kalle Katajisto made no mistake sharing the rerun in which Brundle limped home for a gift point.

The powerhouse Tully-Wethers pair was too much for the previously impressive Steve Boxall in heat 9, and the next heat virtually settled matters.

Chris Neath took a TR, but Wolbert and Katajisto swept home for a 5-1 to give Monarchs a 14-point lead.

A TR for Frampton in heat 11 was the last throw of the dice for the Rockets and at last we saw a really good heat.

In the first running Webster made another good start but got caught outside Craig Cook on the second bend, and came down. He was a bit unlucky to be excluded. In the rerun Cook gated well enough but made a mistake on the first corner, which let Frampton surge ahead. That might have been that, but Cook set out after him and tried cutbacks on each corner, finally succeeding in style on the final lap. Great effort.

Howarth finally scored in heat 12, a third as Andrew Tully took his score to paid 12.

It was all Monarchs now, and Wolbert and Cook swept home in heat 13 ahead of Boxall with Frampton trailing.

Webster had another exclusion in heat 14 when he came down on a tight first corner, and again he was quite unfortunate. Wethers beat Neath in the rerun.

The final heat was another good one. Monarchs had two unbeaten riders in Tully and Katajisto, against Neath and Boxall. At first kalle edged ahead and looked like going on for his paid maximum, but once again Neath showed how well he can ride this track. He slipped up inside Kalle for a well-deserved win, a small consolation for the visitors.

Edinburgh Monarchs v Rye House Rockets

Monarchs will be looking to make a better start to this Friday's re-staging of the abandoned match against Len Silver's Rye House Rockets (7.30) as they strive for the three points that will lift them out of sixth place in the Premier League.

Monarchs made one of their overly-generous, stumbling starts before the first attempt to stage this match was abandoned due to rain. But conditions should be perfect for this one and Edinburgh must make the most of their home track advantage, even though Armadale is similar in size to Hoddesdon.

Kevin Wolbert will be smarting from the cruel loss of his doubling up Elite League place, so let's hope he takes out his frustration on his opposite number, 26-year-old Jordan Frampton from Poole who took over from last year's No.1, Linus Sundstrom, and is averaging a solid 8 points per match

Changes at No.2 for both sides mean that the rejuvenated Kalle Katajisto will face 24-year-old King's Lynn rider James Brundle who has been brought into a re-declared Rockets' line-up from National League Mildenhall at the expense of Ben Morley who had been riding at reserve.

Andrew Tully has been displaying magnificent home form at No.3 when his starting technique is giving him an even chance. His opposite number is Ritchie Hawkins from Peterborough, a man of many clubs who is on loan from Somerset for whom he scored 300 points last year.

Monarchs skipper Matthew Wethers will be hoping the track is to his liking as he faces the Rockets No.4 and captain Chris Neath who has shown he knows the quickest way around the Scotwaste Arena. The rider from Worcester is now in his eighth straight season with Rye House.

Despite his odd difficulty with Armadale's second bend, Edinburgh's top points scorer Craig Cook has proved to be a fantastic signing from Workington. He faces Steve Boxall from Canterbury who seems to have regained his passion for speedway after three largely unproductive years.

Life could be tough at the bottom end of the scorecards where young Tim Webster is faced at No.6 by the experienced Luke Bowen from Harlow in Essex who has dropped to reserve in the re-declared Rockets side, having suffered more than his fair share of injuries in the past few months.

Down at No.7, Monarchs' young reserve hero Kyle Howarth faces the rider who, similar to the singer Prince, wants to be known only as Nelson. The 17-year-old Australian is the only non-Brit in the Rockets side and in his first season is averaging around a point per match less than Kyle.

So with three or four riders easily capable of scoring double figures at Armadale if conditions are to their liking, the eighth placed Rockets will give Monarchs a very stern test. However the home side should have enough in the locker provided they don't make too many 'unforced errors', as that say in tennis.

But these are two well balanced and evenly matched sides, so anything could happen. You won't be able to take your eyes off this one for a single moment!

Likely line-ups:

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

RYE HOUSE SILVER SKI ROCKETS: Jordan Frampton, James Brundle, Ritchie Hawkins, Chris Neath (capt.), Steve Boxall, Luke Bowen, Nelson.