Work To Do At Brough

PREVIEW Sunday 6th June 2021, 12:30pm

by Graham Muncie

  Edinburgh Monarchs

The What the Fork Monarchs head to Brough Park with a job to do after an excellent Newcastle performance meant all the Armadale men could muster was a 4 point lead.

While there was nothing to stop Sam Masters and Richie Worrall romping to full houses the rest of the Monarchs could not back this up as the Diamonds stuck to their task well and with James Wright rolling back the years the Diamonds probably go into Sunday's second leg as favourites.

Both teams have changes at the top of their lineups with Sam missing out due to Polish commitments Stevie Worrall steps in. While for the Diamonds Ben Barker's hand injury leaves him on the sidelines still, Scunthorpe's Tero Aarnio comes into the fray.

Elsewhere the teams are as expected with Joe Lawlor making his Monarch's comeback after an enforced absence due to a wrist injury.

This will be the Diamond's first home match under the new management of Rob Grant and I'm sure after the 18 months or so he has faced since taking over I'm all at Brough will be delighted to get back on track.

While mentioned that Newcastle may well start as favourites the Monarchs can travel with some hope. Sam is a big miss but as a former Diamonds number 1 and Monarch's league winner Steve Worrall is as good a guest as could be hoped. Richie and Josh both rate Brough as one of their favourite circuits while at reserve Willie Lawson is another former Diamond with a breadth of experience.

For the Diamonds they will be looking for more of the same as Friday with the top Diamonds no doubt hoping for a scalp or two on their home circuit.

So it's a 4 point lead for the Monarchs to defend should they be to progress to the next round of the cup where Redcar or Birmingham await.

Live updates will be available on the Monarchs website with tapes due to fly at 4pm

Full Result Details