Interesting Night in Prospect

PREVIEW Friday 20th May 2016, 12:31pm

by Graham Muncie

  Edinburgh Monarchs

A break from Premier League level action this week as we welcome the Belle Vue Colts National League side to Armadale to take on what is being labelled a Monarchs select outfit.

This Friday had originally been pencilled in for a League Cup semi final place but unfortunately our home defeat to Berwick coupled with the excellent early season form of Glasgow meant we gave up the trophy we captured in both 2014and 2015. Despite frenzied attempt no Premier League side was willing to re-arrange their fixture to this Friday so it’s a little into the unknown we go.

Both sides have plenty of talent on show though and with reduced admission across the board this promises to be a welcome addition to the fixture list.

Lining up as part of the Monarchs select are 2 current and 2 former Monarchs. At number 1 is our top reserve Max Clegg. Max appears to be turning the corner after an indifferent start to the season and will be looking for another confidence boosting evening. Joining Max at heat leader at number 5 will be Jye Etheridge. Jye is showing flashes of promise but this is the meeting we will look for him to turn this into points against less experienced opposition.

The rest of the Monarchs line-up will gather interest from all involved. The engine room being made up off 2 former Monarchs in the form Of Mitchell Davey and William Lawson. It is no secret that but for hold ups gaining his citizenship that Mitchell would have been the Monarchs number 7 this year and he will be looking to put himself firmly in the shop window with the hope that his British passport will be in order in the not too distant future. His partner in the middle order needs very little introduction in Willie Lawson. Lawson is of course a former league winner and Monarchs number 1. The one time world under 21 finalist appeared lost to the sport a few years ago when the new silencers were introduced but a few second half appearances piqued the interest of the fans and many will look to see if he is still a shade of his former self this Friday.

Joining the more experienced members in the Monarchs septet are 3 relatively unknown prospects that will be thankful of the competitive track time. It is a crying shame that since the demise of Linlithgow there has not been a dedicated training track in Scotland and this has shown in the lack of riders coming through as we are now in a position where there is not 1 Scottish rider in the top 2 tiers of British Speedway. Hoping to turn the tide of this are Dale Lamb, Lewis Millar and Kev Whelan. Lamb will no doubt be the best known to the Monarchs fans and many will remember him as our club mascot of a few years back. Millar and Whelan are still very much in their formative efforts in speedway and while both have had some competitive action with Stoke in the NL they will be happy for any experience they can get this Friday.

Lining up against the young Monarchs are Belle Vue’s National League team the Belle Vue Colts. The Colts have made a strong start to their National League campaign with 3 wins out of 4 and there are Premier League names dotted throughout the line-up.

Number 1 for the Colts is Matt Williamson. Williamson has already been a visitor to Armadale this season weighing in with paid 7 including a heat 2 win in Workington’s visit to the Dale.

Number 2 for the Manchester men is David Holt. The Cheshire based racer is in his second season at National League level having shown glimpses of his potential at Buxton last year. Holt has had a solid start to the season weighing in with points in all his fixtures so far.

Number 3 is a rider that we looked at to potentially fill our number 7 berth before the start of the season. Rob Shuttleworth. It was not to be for Rob joining the Monarchs at that time but he will be sure to show us what we are missing this weekend.

Joining Rob in the middle order is Burton born Tom Wooley. Wooley is another who made the move over from Buxton during the winter and he will be happy with the start he has made to his Belle Vue Career.

Number 5 for the Manchester men is Lee Payne. Payne is another who has been given one of the ‘fast track’ reserve berths in the PL this year this time with Redcar and he has taken this chance with both hands with a couple of double figure scores to his name already. Lee is mentored by none other than Joe Screen and Peter Carr and if he has half the career of either of those he will have done well.

First reserve for Belle Vue is Ben Basford. Ben is guesting in the place of Joe Lawlor as rules dictate 15 year olds cannot ride in this fixture. Basford is a Cradley team mate of Max Clegg’s and is another who will be thankful for the experience.

Last but certainly not least for the Colts is their (and our) number 7 Dan Bewley. Dan has been lighting up the National League so far and he is another we will look to get good experience and hopefully some confidence for this fixture even though technically he is in opposition this week.

So all in all an intriguing fixture ahead with the potential for some top battle s between Clegg, Lawson, Davey and Etheridge against Williamson, Payne, Shuttleworth and Bewley and then the lower order battles as we look for progression from the youngsters at the bottom ends.

It may be unusual looking line-ups but those who remember the days of the Dale Devils will know there will be no lack of action on the night in what should be a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

Full Result Details