Sheffield Tigers v Edinburgh Monarchs

REPORT Thursday 7th July 2011, 10:00pm

by Mike Hunter

  Edinburgh Monarchs

We kept things close in the early stages at Sheffield but it was fairly obvious that we didn't have enough riders going well to put in a real challenge. However, we did have Wolbert.

Kevin took one rider to get his sights set, then turned in a series of superb rides which made him the star of the show.

He trailed in the first heat though, as Matthew split the Sheffield pair, and it was only when Skidmore crashed on the last corner that Kevin took a point and we shared the heat.

Lambert won heat 2 but steady rides by Kyle and Tim ensured that Ashley Birks, who has been going well recently, was kept at the back. Nice point for new boy Tim.

Heat 3 was lost 5-1 and this was the start of a poor night indeed for the Tully / Katajisto pairing who conceded three of the six 1-5s we lost.

Parker won heat 4 but Cook was close enough to suggest that he could keep his recent good run going, and Kyle Howarth kept Birks pointless again.

Wolbert came to the fore in heat 5 with a flying win. Auty almost baulked Sanchez in his efforts to get close, but not enough to let Wethers catch the Argentinian. Auty made up some ground but didn't look like passing Wolbert.

So at 17-13 we were still in touch, but heat 6 didn't go according to plan. Cook was challenging for most of the heat, but Ashworth and Skidmore took a 5-1. Heat 7 went the same way as Parker and Lambert found our middle pair fairly easy to beat, and we were now 12 down and struggling.

Tome for a TR, Matthew off gate 4 in heat 8. He went ahead out of the second bend and with Kyle beating Birks again we took a 7-2 to close the score up to 29-22.

Two home 5-1s followed, and that was pretty much that, though the first start of heat 10 is worth mentioning. Kalle Katajisto made a decent start for once, but Ashworth put himself in a position entering the first corner from which he was bound to be knocked off when Kalle turned. Ashworth should have been out, but we got a weak 'all four' decision and the inevitable 1-5 in the rerun.

Over the closing stages, at least we had Kevin Wolbert's races to enjoy.

He swept ahead in heat 11 on a TR, but he had Parker moving in and stalking him. Parker slipped inside on lap three and went ahead, only for Wolbert to brilliantly come back and re-take the lead. Parker gave him room to race and it was a great spectacle.

Matthew beat Lambert so we scored our second 7-2, a big help in making the score respectable by the end.

Heat 12 was another 1-5, Howarth taking up the chase on Lambert but just missing out.

It looked as though the formidable Ashworth-Parker would get the better of Wolbert in heat 13, but Kevin didn't see it that way. He really went after them and we had the rare sight of seeing a Monarchs' rider race past Ashworth at Owlerton. A great second place.

Kalle at least managed to close his night with a second ahead of Lambert, and then we had Wolbert again. He didn't make a great start of gate 4 in heat 15, but what a first corner he pulled out, going ahead of Parker and Sanchez down the back straight.

Parker moved in for another challenge, and another great race. Kevin won it though, and with Matthew passing Sanchez we at least finished with our third heat advantage. We had been anything but solid but at least we reached 40.

Full Result Details