Derby action from two years ago Image Credit: Jack Cupido

Biggest Scottish Derby for years

NEWS Wednesday 21st July 2021, 2:27pm

by Mike Hunter

  Edinburgh Monarchs

Both Scottish sides the What the Fork Monarchs and the Allied Vehicles Tigers are pushing hard for a place in the end-of-season Playoffs which will decide the Championship title, so the home-and-away clashes between the sides this weekend are the most important since they met in the 2015 Premier League Final.

Monarchs won on that occasion but they have not managed to beat the Tigers since the final match of the 2018 season (the sides did not of course meet in 2020).

Glasgow will be at full strength, and Monarchs hope to be able to say the same but do still have fitness concerns over Richie Worrall, Nathan Greaves and Joe Lawlor which they will have to resolve before Friday.

Glasgow returned to the top of the league with a win at Plymouth on Tuesday night, while Monarchs sit in third spot with notable wins at Eastbourne and Berwick recently and a big run of away matches coming up in the next three weeks or so.

Key Monarch Josh Pickering, looking forward to the matches, says "I don't get built up, at first it is really hard as you can tell how much it means, it's the only time you see Alex (Harkess) on the track walk with us and things like that but we can only control ourselves. I've said to the boys you just treat these meetings like any other. You can't be getting off task you have to just do your job, race your bike and it will take care of itself."

As with all Armadale matches this season the match will be Live Streamed, however due to the increased capacity we are reviewing the streaming service at the moment with a view to imposing an exclusion zone , as was the original intention.

THIS WEEK'S MEETINGS:

Friday 23rd July: Edinburgh What the Fork Monarchs v Glasgow (Championship), Armadale, 7:30pm

WHAT THE FORK MONARCHS: Sam Masters (capt.), Nathan Greaves, Kye Thomson, Josh Pickering, Richie Worrall, Joe Lawlor, William Lawson.

ALLIED VEHICLES TIGERS: Craig Cook (capt.), Sam Jensen, Ricky Wells, Broc Nicol, Ulrich Ostergaard, Connor Bailey, Justin Sedgmen.

Sunday 25th July: Glasgow v Edinburgh What the Fork Monarchs (Championship), Ashfield, 3:00pm