Edinburgh Monarchs v Workington Comets

PREVIEW Friday 17th September 2010, 12:00pm

by Gordon Fraser

  Edinburgh Monarchs

All the points gained in Edinburgh's most successful league campaign in their history count for nothing this Friday and Saturday when Edinburgh face Workington home and away in the Knock-Out Cup Semi-Final.

This will be a really stiff test for Monarchs because they have lost twice at Workington this season and had only a slight edge on aggregate in their Premier Trophy and Premier League encounters. Add to that the fact that the Comets are at their strongest.

A series of team changes carried out by veteran speedway tactician, Ian Thomas has produced a solid side with no apparent weak links. Every rider has an average from about five to seven points and is capable of a double figure score on his night.

Ryan Fisher's opposite number is former Glasgow and Edinburgh star Russell Harrison from Australia who is now in his third spell with Workington. Rusty retired from speedway on medical advice but has found a new lease of life since replacing a very unhappy Adam Roynon.

At No.2, Matthew Wethers faces Craig Cook from Whitehaven in Cumbria who has adapted to speedway from Moto-Cross even better than his pal Richard Lawson. Now in his third season of speedway, Craig's career is still very much on an upward path.

Monarchs will be hoping that their German ace, Kevin Wolbert, was just having an off night at Somerset. He faces Yorkshireman, Andre Compton, who will always be associated with Sheffield and who injured his shoulder on his last Armadale visit.

Kalle Katajisto is back to his best and could have a very big influence on the outcome of this tie. His opposite number is the hard charging young Dane, Peter Kildemand, who is only in his first UK season and is just back racing after a couple of troublesome injuries.

The mercurial Andrew Tully will also be required to be at his best over the two legs. He lines up opposite Essex born and bred Chris Schramm. Chris had a huge season with all-conquering King's Lynn last year but was not retained in their 2010 rebuilding.

Life will not be easy for Monarchs novice reserve Ashley Morris as he is paired against Richard Lawson, son of Steve and a rider whose description is almost identical to Craig Cook's. Whitehaven-born, ex moto-cross star, now in his third speedway season.

William Lawson needs to pick up where he left off last Friday, this time against 22-year-old Danish rider Casper Wortmann who replaces the injured Kenny Ingalls. Casper's life was saved by emergency surgery in 2008 and this year he was surprisingly dropped by King's Lynn.

Once again, Monarchs are the team hosting the first leg and having to guess what a winning lead to take to Cumbria might be. On the opposite side of the coin, Comets will have the advantage of knowing exactly what they have to score in the second leg.

Monarchs will have to perform well from one to seven and not be as generous as they have been to visitors on occasions at Armadale. Workington will be full of confidence and will gladly pounce on any gift points on offer.

This one could be a classic. The racing will be close and exciting so Monarchs will be hoping for a big home crowd to give them a boost and cheer them to victory.

Likely line-ups:

SCOTWASTE MONARCHS: Ryan Fisher, Matthew Wethers (capt.), Kevin Wolbert, Kalle Katajisto, Andrew Tully, Ashley Morris, William Lawson.

WORKINGTON THOMAS ARMSTRONG COMETS: Rusty Harrison, Craig Cook, Andre Compton, Peter Kildemand, Chris Schramm (capt.), Richard Lawson, Casper Wortmann.

Full Result Details