One point win on a night of drama and excitement

NEWS Saturday 4th May 2019, 0:58am

by Mike Hunter

  Edinburgh Monarchs

The Staggs Bar Monarchs took a win tonight by 45-44 over a Berwick side with only four scoring riders, after a night which had as much drama, great racing, twists and turns as anyone could possibly ask for.

Monarchs' boss Alex Harkess said "It was too close for comfort. I daresay it was exciting for both teams but I am looking for better performances throughout the team. We went for what I thought was our best gaters in the final race, then one touches the tapes and the other falls off. But we got there."

Last gasp victories for both Cameron Heeps and Josh Pickering (twice) were the pick of the heats but there were plenty of other tussles worth watching. Having clawed their way to a 7-point advantage with three races left, the home side really struggled to finish the job and were left just a point clear going into an extraordinary last heat.

When Ricky Wells touched the tapes and was forced to go back 15 metres, it looked like advantage Berwick with Cameron Heeps on his own at the tapes. Aaron Summers and Bandits' guest Josh Bates gated well with Heeps going for a very wide turn to try to gain speed down the straight. However Bates ran out of room and may have run into his partner, coming down and earning an exclusion.

This left Monarchs needing only two finishers to take the one point win – but for a horrible moment it looked like that wasn't happening as Heeps fell chasing Summers! He spun off on the pits corner but mercifully, he kept the bike going and remounted to continue for the necessary 3-3.

Bandits gained a point of course, and were clearly worth at least that. Although they had only four scoring riders, this works quite well when they are able to take 24 rides between them. Summers displayed his excellent current form and took heats 13 and 15, Bates was a productive guest, Doolan showed all his experience and the real thorn in Monarchs' side was Coty Garcia with two wins in his paid 14 from reserve.

Monarchs' fans looking for the familiar home dominance and for powerhouse displays from their team, are not getting it at the moment. What they are getting though is bags of effort and some signs that better form is not too far away.

There is certainly pressure on the heat leaders to win all their heats. Ricky Wells looked unbeatable for three races, then ran a last in heat 13 and had that tape touch before gratefully taking the gift of a second in heat 15. Cameron Heeps was excellent and took a great win on the line over Garcia in heat 7. How delighted he must be that he was able to remount in the final race.

Josh Pickering was… his usual self. Apart from heat 3 when an attempted team ride with Joel Andersson went wrong and Kevin Doolan nipped between them for a race win. Sensational wins from the back in heat 9 (over Bates) and heat 12 (over Garcia) were both astonishing for the amount of ground made up right at the end of the heats.

Justin Sedgmen started with a tape touch but finished with a good paid win over Doolan. Luke Ruddick crashed after a good start in heat 2 due to a mechanical gremlin but took a good point in his second ride. William Lawson didn't score heavily but he took hard fought points in his races, over Doolan and (from the back) Gappmaier.

Joel Andersson had one of his more disappointing matches with the heat 14 1-5 nearly proving the team's undoing.

After winning by just one at home, perhaps hopes are not high for success at Berwick tomorrow but each rider has to work hard for improvement in their own personal form. We'll see where we can get to.

Full Result Details