Bandits and Monarchs need points

NEWS Wednesday 24th July 2019, 7:00pm

by Mike Hunter

  Edinburgh Monarchs

Speedway's Championship is still in its early stages but if they are to put in a challenge later in the season, both the Staggs Bar Monarchs and the Berwick Bandits need to make a move soon. That will ensure a hard-fought encounter when the teams meet at Armadale this Friday.

This match will of course at last see the return of Sam Masters after last week's postponement disappointment. In contrast to the Monarchs, Bandits have stayed with their solid lineup unchanged since the start of the season, and as befits a team based only 60 miles or so away, they know Armadale well.

There will be no chance for Monarchs to relax. Their most recent match was at Leicester, taking an excellent point, while Berwick did very well in last week's home and away contests against the Somerset Rebels.

Summers, Etheridge and Garcia are all former Monarchs, and Doolan might as well be considering how often he has ridden the circuit.

Team manager Alex Harkess said "It was a big disappointment to lose last week's match but I am sure that an attractive fixture plus the return to Armadale of Sam Masters will draw a big crowd on Friday.

"We certainly must not slip up at home, we need to be picking up points consistently from now on."

Friday 26th July: Staggs Bar Monarchs v Somerset (Championship), Armadale, 7:30pm

Teams:

STAGGS BAR MONARCHS: Sam Masters, William Lawson, Josh Pickering, Ricky Wells (capt.), Cameron Heeps, Matt Marson, Connor Coles.

BERWICK BANDITS POWERD BY MIKE HOPE OF WOOLER: Aaron Summers, Jye Etheridge, Kevin Doolan (capt.), Dany Gappmaier, Nikolai Busk Jakobsen, Coty Garcia, Leon Flint.

The senior match will be followed by a Northern Junior League match between the Dale Devils and the Bandits' Academy.

Full Result Details