Very disappointing defeat

A 39-50 home defeat by Leicester was one of the most disappointing results for the Monarchs for a long time, and the second time they have failed to reach 40 at Armadale this season.

What the Fork Monarchs' captain Sam Masters said "Two home defeats and two away is not really what we want is it? It's tough, without sounding disrespectful we just have a couple of stragglers. Myself, Kye and Josh can't really do it all.

"It's the same problem as our last meeting here we just weren't getting off the start. I was a little bit better but it was first to the dirt line wins. They are good guys, Nick and Richie, and pretty much impossible to pass. If we could get out the start better it would make life a lot easier."

The track was quite tricky due to the after-effects of rain, but the Leicester riders simply coped better. Their gating was far superior – time and again the red-and-yellow race suits raced ahead, and there were also several occasions when home riders seemed to have made decent starts only for them to be out-manoeuvred out of the second bend and down the back straight.

After an opening heat 4-2 to Monarchs, Lions took the lead in heat 2 with a 5-1, and from then on there was never a feeling that we were going to be able to regain the advantage.

Once again Paco Castagna made a very poor start to the meeting with a last place in heat 3, and unlike previous weeks he did not bounce back with some race wins.

Josh Pickering had probably the ride of the night in heat 4, passing both Leicester riders including a daring outside move on race leader Howarth. However James Sarjeant was not in the form of the earlier meetings and he fell in this race.

We were six down by heat 6 but didn't choose to use a tac sub, and took a second 4-2 from the opening pair. Lasse Fredriksen had beaten both Dan Thompson and Kyle Bickley to this point, but up against the same pair again in heat 8, although he made a decent start, he came down on the second bend.

When Sam Masters' bike failed in second place in heat 10, the writing was really on the wall. The captain came into heat 11 as tac sub and duly won the heat, but Josh was just short in his attempt to peg back Richie Worrall.

Seven down with three heats remaining, realistically we needed two 5-1s in heats 13 and 15, but Worrall won heat 13 with Josh coming off trying to find the outside line.

Kye Thomson got a race win from the back in heat 14 but it was too late. Top Lion Nick Morris again got the better of Masters on the opening bends in the final heat, and the visitors had hit 50.

Apart from Morris, Worrall and Howarth were very solid heat leaders, and their reserves easily outscored the home boys. Leicester had every reason to be happy with their night's work.

Lions Come To Town On The Hunt For Points

Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my! Or so the song goes and that is what the What the Fork Monarchs are faced with as tonight sees the 2nd of a Glasgow, Leicester, Redcar trio of matches as the Lions come to Armadale in Championship action.

Another tough match lies ahead as Stewart Dickson brings his men north with potentially the trio of heat leaders with the best Armadale pedigree in the league in the form of Richie Worrall, Nick Morris and Kyle Howarth. All 3 in fine form and all 3 with multiple double digits returns at the Dale in their recent history of course Worrall chief among them as a Monarch of 2021.

The battles at the top end as Sam Masters and Josh Pickering take to track with their visiting counterparts will be a sight to behold but everyone has a part to play if the Lions are to head home pointless. Backup in the main body of the team comes from Dan Thompson and Connor Mountain both young and improving and both more than capable of heat wins also.

While at the bottom end we see one change as Anders Rowe misses out due to illness with Berwick's Kyle Bickley stepping in. Bickley will partner Joe Thompson twin brother of the aforementioned Dan. Joe perhaps took a little longer to get acclimatised to Championship level racing after stepping up at the first opportunity last year but he has shown his liking for the Armadale track so far and with his average now up towards the 4 and a half point mark he is really starting to show his talent and will be a tough beat for any of the Monarchs not least Jacob and James at reserve.

In mentioning James, he is the one change for the Monarchs from the last time out when the Monarchs somewhat redeemed themselves after the heavy home defeat to Glasgow by gaining a point at Ashfield. 'Sarj' missed out that day due to the impending arrival of baby number 2 and with a happy and healthy new arrival the Yorkshireman is ready to get back to work and will be a key man for the Monarchs as his big scoring run looks to continue.

Elsewhere Kye Thomson and Paco Castagna will continue in the middle order both looking for that one missing key so far that being consistency as tremendous races have been mixed in with ones where they would have hoped for better in nearly all matches so far.

Our 2 UK newcomers Lasse and Jacob continue their speedway education, and both have said they are looking to make life so much easier for themselves by getting out the start sharper, Lasse also having bolstered his pit crew to ease his night's workload.

So, the Monarchs are set, a strong opponent is in town, and everything is in place for a great night of action ahead.

Tickets can still be purchased with the ability to pay at the gate also available. For those that can't attend the match will be live streamed with passes able to purchase on the Monarchs website also.

Friday night is speedway night so let's go racing!