Match Of The Season Ahead

PREVIEW Thursday 11th May 2017, 12:00pm

by Graham Muncie

  Edinburgh Monarchs

It’s time for the big one! It’s the battle for Scottish supremacy as we welcome the Glasgow Allied Vehicle Tigers to Armadale in a top of the table SGB Championship clash.

The Tigers have made an excellent start to the season having only tasted defeat twice in 7 matches. Both of these defeats were close affairs as the Tigers picked up a point on each occasion for holding their opponent to within 7 points. Add to that our only defeat this season was at the hands of our nearest neighbours, when we were roundly beaten 57-34 at Ashfield at the end of last month and the Tigers faithful have had an enjoyable couple of months.

The Monarchs have bounced back well from that result haven taken care of Workington at Armadale last Friday and then being narrowly defeated at Peterborough when we were missing the Riss brothers on Sunday. These results mean nothing come Friday though and we will need to be at the top of our game if we are to maintain our unbeaten home record this season.

Fortunately the frequency of matches against the Tigers has receded slightly in the last couple of years meaning that these are now more highly anticipated than ever that however does not mean that there is a lack of Armadale experience in the Glasgow ranks and we have seen all three of the Tigers top men at Armadale already this season.

The most experienced of the visitors around Armadale is captain and number 1 Aaron Summers. Spud is of course an ex- Monarch having tasted league title success with us back in 2008. It is no mean feat to be number 1 in a team that includes riders of the calibre of Lawson and Worrall also and Summers has enjoyed the finest spell of his career in the last couple of seasons. A veteran of over 80 previous appearances round the West Lothian shale Summers enjoyed his highest ever score in the Tigers late season rout last year and will be looking for this to continue.

Rider Replacement operates at number 2 with Nike Lunna still sidelined having suffered a broken thumb in a crash at Ashfield against the Monarchs. Nike’s rides will be shared between Richard Lawson, Dan Bewley and the reserves.

Number 3 is Richard Lawson, remarkably now 31 Lawson is undoubtedly one of the most stylish riders in the second tier. Previously someone who could be inconsistent at Armadale the son of god as he is affectionately known in the west has put these demons to bed with a string of double digit scores. A semi finalist in this year’s Harrison’s Scottish Open and with an 11 point return including a heat 15 victory guesting for Sheffield in the recent KO Cup tie attest to his new found confidence round the Dale. Lawson could well be the key man as with an extra race in place for Lunna and being able to avoid the Monarchs 1 and 5 in the majority of his heats a big score for Lawson could go a long way for the Tigers.

Another ex-Monarch is in at number 4 in the shape of Dan Bewley. Of course we all watched on in awe last season as Dan went from an obviously talented but timid rider at the start of the season to quite possibly the newcomer of the year before a nasty concussion ended his season at Newcastle. Bewley appears to have shaken off the effects of this and recorded his first ever maximum in the second tier in the reverse fixture at Ashfield a few weeks ago.

Man of the moment for the Tigers is Richie Worrall. Worrall has been on fire this season currently sporting a 10 point average. A fast starter Richie is another who has a known liking for our home track having only been beaten once when guesting for Redcar earlier in the season. Now looking to make good on the promise that had Richie as one of the top prospects in British speedway a few years ago at only 25 Richie still has time on his side as he looks to make his mark on the sport.

Senior reserve for the Tigers is Shropshire born racer Tom Perry. Perry has been around the second tier for a few years now having made a handful of guest appearances for the Monarchs as long ago as 2011 and while he has never made the step to consistently get out of the reserve berth this is due to no lack of trying and Perry appears to be another that has been held back by injuries over the years. Perry is a fan favourite wherever he races due to his all action style and a strong performance from him would definitely be a boon for the Tigers and on a track he has recorded paid double figures on before this is certainly not out of Perry’s capabilities.

Rounding out the line-up is young Jack Smith. Viewed as a coup of a signing by the Tigers on a 2 point average Smith has found the going a little tough in the second tier but is learning all the time and as we saw last year with Dan all it can take is a couple of confidence boosting rides and he will be firing. The Monarchs will hope that these will not come this Friday in what is sure to be a close encounter.

The Parsons Peebles Monarchs return to full strength this week as we welcome back the Riss brothers from their continental commitments. This will be the last match for Mark at reserve and his contribution could prove to be key as we look for him to continue his blistering start to the season that has seen him almost double his starting figure. Sam and Ricky will look to continue their imposing Armadale form that saw them only be beaten once combined by opponents last week against Workington. Josh continues to ride through the pain barrier but didn’t appear to be hindered too much by his broken fingers last weekend as he recorded points in all his races and was key to our picking up a point at Peterborough. Max will look to build on his promising scoring of late with last weekend bringing his highest tallies both home and away so far this season and Mitchell will look to continue doing what has been doing in consistently beating the opposition number 7.

So all in all an enthralling fixture awaits in what will hopefully be a packed out Armadale. Will the Monarchs gain revenge for their hiding of a few weeks ago? Will the Tigers lay down an early season marker of their championship credentials? There is only one way to find out and that’s to get yourself to Armadale on Friday to witness it. See you there!

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