Edinburgh Monarchs v Ipswich Witches

This was the second match in two days between the sides most likely to take the sixth Playoff position.

Yet again, Friday brought the worst weather of the week and another afternoon of hard toil for the track staff to make the circuit rideable. In the end it was better than the week before but quite slippery and slick, and conditions certainly played their part in the events.

The riders on both sides clearly appreciated the importance of the match, and though it wasn’t possible to bring off many passing moves, incidents were always likely as the riders battled for position.

For the home side Aaron Summers was an outstanding guest and dropped his only point in the final heat. But it has been the no. 6 position which has been tougher to fill, and this time Tabaka’s replacement Micky Dyer was out of luck. He has been on good form but fell after taking the lead in heat 2 and never got going after that.

Derek Sneddon also had an unlucky night. He was on a 5-1 with Summers in heat 6 but the pair got too close, Sneddon locked up and caused Tresarrieu to fall.

After a determined win in heat 8 Sneddon fought an amazing battle in heat 10 against Taylor Poole and Morten Risager, riding an apparently impossible outside line, and it did seem that on the final turn Risger had accidentally brought him down. Referee Flint’s view must have been that the home man shouldn’t have been there anyway.

Theo Pijper, Matthew Wethers and Andrew Tully were all in the thick of things though none looked at their best in the awkward conditions. They probably can’t recall what Armadale is like with a dry circuit.

Ipswich deserve full credit for taking such a positive approach. When they drew level at the half way stage they looked just as likely to win as Edinburgh, and in the end they deserved to get a point. On his first Armadale appearance Risager had an excellent night and his wins in heats 14 and 15 delivered the point, while Dakota North, Taylor Poole and Matt Tresarrieu all rode with great spirit.

There was controversy in the latter stages, Tresarrieu slid off in heat 11 with Monarchs on a 5-1, and Tungate took a heavier fall in heat 13 in the same situation, at the end of lap two. The rules give little incentive for the riders to rise quickly, though neither bothered to make it look convincing when the red lights came on.

Then we had North put back 15 metres for arguing with the start marshall prior to the final race, and he can thank his Danish team mate that this didn’t cost his side.

Edinburgh Monarchs v Ipswich Witches

It's High Noon time at Armadale this Friday (7.30) when Monarchs have to shoot down the Ipswich 'Sackers' Witches if they want to leapfrog them into that all-important sixth Premier League Play-Off qualifying place.

Ipswich pulled off a narrow home win over Edinburgh last night to lead by three league points but Monarchs have three home matches in hand on the former Elite League side and have the chance to cement that sixth place if they can win them all in the next fortnight.

Fresh from a paid maximum at Redcar last night, one-time Monarch Aaron Summers leads the line for Edinburgh as a guest replacement for Craig Cook at No.1. He faces one of the most experienced riders in the Premier League, former Elite League star, Leigh Lanham from Ipswich.

Derek Sneddon has been playing a key part in the Monarchs' recent successes and will have the task of outscoring his fellow No.2, Dakota North, the 21-year-old rider from Victoria who first grabbed the attention of the speedway world in the colours of Newcastle Diamonds.

Theo Pijper has settled back into the Monarchs side as though he had never been away for five years and he lines up opposite a real livewire at No.3 in 20-year-old Taylor Poole who hit the ground running after arriving from from New South Wales with some dazzling performances.

Cool as a cucumber Matthew Wethers seems to have got better and better as the season has progressed and he faces a newcomer to Armadale at No.4 in 24-year-old Danish rider Morten Risager who has a hatful of hard-earned Elite League experience with a number of clubs.

Andrew Tully, now happily reunited with the bike that has seen him fly round the Scotwaste Arena this year, faces another Armadale newcomer who is also a newcomer to the Premier League, Rohan Tungate from Australia who has made the jump from reserve to No.5 in double quick time.

Another rider in his first UK season, Micky Dyer returns to the blue and gold for one night only as a guest for Jozsef Tabaka with the task of matching the flying Frenchman with the exotic Gallic name, Mathieu Tresarrieu who first came to prominence with the Isle of Wight a decade ago.

Monarchs' young German star with the Premier League 'L' plates, Marcel Helfer, will need to make some starts if he is to compete on equal terms with the Witches' fellow learner at No. 7, Stefan Neilsen, a British rider with a Danish father who is used to bigger tracks than the Scotwaste Arena.

With Monarchs under-powered because of key injuries, on paper these two sides are very evenly matched. Edinburgh have a slight edge in the top five, while this is balanced to some extent by a decent pairing of reserves for Ipswich. So Monarchs will look to make the most of home advantage to tip the scales their way.

Ipswich have an exciting side brimming with eager young riders and they will be desperate to come away with something from this match. Edinburgh on the other hand have been making a late surge up the league table and are fresh from a huge win in last Friday's second match once track conditions improved.

Monarchs will start as favourites but nerves will be jangling with so much at stake. Win, and your team can go on to bigger and better things. Lose, and in the words of the game show: “You may go home with nothing!” Make sure you're there to cheer on your side in this vital clash. Tapes up 7.30 sharp.

Likely line-ups:

EDINBURGH SCOTWASTE MONARCHS: Aaron Summers (guest), Derek Sneddon, Theo Pijper, Matthew Wethers (capt.), Andrew Tully, Micky Dyer (guest), Marcel Helfer.

IPSWICH SACKERS WITCHES: Leigh Lanham, Dakota North, Taylor Poole, Morten Risager, Rohan Tungate, Matt Tresarrieu, Stefan Nielsen.