Edinburgh Monarchs v Glasgow Tigers

PREVIEW Friday 29th September 2006, 12:00pm

by Dennis Wallace

  Edinburgh Monarchs

For the last match of the season the team seems to be in some disarray

We know that Matthew Wethers will be missing due to the unfortunate crash he had last week and hope that Henrik Moller will have fully recovered from his crash in Poland that required him to spend some time in hospital. The same applies to Theo Pijper although the fact that he was able to ride abroad on Sunday suggests he should be fit for this Scottish Cup derby clash.

There can be no doubt that Theo has improved this season to the extent that he is capable of beating anyone round Armadale and has been the only genuine heat leader the team has had since Rusty Harrison's departure (although Rusty's performances prior to his departure were less than impressive). Theo's presence is therefore of huge importance for this match as Glasgow arrive with their well publicised top end strength. Assuming Henrik is fit the only doubt as this is written is how we will cover for Matthew. We could really do with a suitable guest since it would be a big ask for William, Henrik, Daniele and Derek/Sean to cover in his absence.

We have seen so much of Glasgow that there is little new to write about them. In recent away matches Shane Parker has been a shadow of the rider who has dominated the scoring charts for so long but, on the other hand, Kauko Nieminen has suddenly hit a rich vein of form. Danny Bird must be one of the fastest gaters in the league and runs up huge scores from his starts but he rarely impresses when he's behind and in Robert Ksiezak they have a real ace in their pack. Robert's fast gating and steady mid-track line makes him a dangerous opponent particularly since he can take up to seven rides to compensate for the shortcomings at the tail end of the side.

David McAllan knows Armadale well having ridden here on many occasions but he has not had many good meetings here since he rode for Edinburgh last year. Lee Dicken is one of the league's real enthusiasts and always gives it total effort but his scoring is often directly opposite to the effort he puts in. James Cockle must be one of the biggest disappointments of the year for the Tigers. He looked to be a tremendous asset when he was given the benefit of a B grading at reserve but, apart from the odd glimpse of form usually resulting from a fast gate, he has made little progress this year and developed the frustrating habit of often falling while in good position.

The best way of summing up Glasgow is to recognise that they have three excellent heat leaders, one first class reserve and three others who add bits and pieces to the score. Compare that to the Monarchs who have one excellent heat leader, one blossoming heat leader, two strong middle order riders and one up and coming newcomer. At reserve we have a strong scorer and another who sometimes surprises us with new found fight but who is still prone to some very poor starts.

So what does that equate to on the track when they go head to head? Well your guess is as good as mine but for Glasgow this match comes at a time when they are still involved in a number of major tournaments. They have a tough match on their hands on Sunday trying to pull back 16 points against the Isle of Wight in the play-offs then ride in the fours tournament the following Saturday before hosting the pairs event on the Sunday. They will be desperate to avoid injuries or machine problems prior to these matches and would no doubt not be too troubled at having some sort of deficit to pull back in the second leg of the Scottish Cup to give the return match some meaning.

There will be no doubt that, despite these factors, the Tigers will be giving it everything they've got in front of what is sure to be a big travelling support. Likewise the Monarchs will want to finish the season on a high note by again thwarting a team which has often arrived with great expectations only to leave with their tails between their legs.

Taking everything into consideration the odds must favour Glasgow to win the first leg on Friday. We know that to stop them doing so we need a real captain's performance from Theo by beating the Glasgow big guns and a strong and determined effort by the rest of the team to stop Robert Ksiezak from scoring freely from the front and to restrict the lower order to nothing but scraps. Any points thrown away are likely to prove costly.