Sam heads Boomber in heat 1 Image Credit: Jack Cupido

Heavy Defeat At Shielfield

REPORT Saturday 16th April 2022, 10:15pm

by Graham Muncie

  Edinburgh Monarchs

The What the Fork Monarchs went down to a heavy defeat 56-34 at Shielfield on Saturday night against an impressive Berwick Bandits side.

The home men were in fine form from the off leaving the Monarchs chasing their tails and insult was added to injury when Josh Pickering came off trying to round the field in the last heat, teammate Paco Castagna the unlucky one as Pickering's bike clattered into him.

Monarchs team manager Alex Harkess saying after 'The score line was perhaps no great surprise, it's a tough place to come particularly if you haven't been before. I thought we got better as the match went on but by that point we had too much to do.

'As the match gets to the latter stages gate 1 is impossible and that was our downfall. Sam was excluded when on gate 1 and he feels unfairly as he is made the start and we feel that should have been 1st bend bunching at worse. Then heat 15 Josh comes off and unfortunately Paco comes off worse so I'm not sure we've got out of the meeting with 7 fit riders we'll have to wait and see.'

The Bandits are a formidable side at home and they were clearly up for the tussle having went down by 10 at Armadale on Friday night. The home men putting their stamp on the meeting from the off, heat advantages in 5 of the first 8 heats meant any hopes of a Monarchs victory were gone with a 32-16 deficit the score line at this point.

Heat 9 did give the Monarchs fans something to cheer for as Sam Masters in as a tactical substitute and Pickering took a 5-1 this coming after a great effort by the latter to stalk and pass Bandits number 1 Theo Pijper on the final bend.

Any hopes this would spark a fight back to at least put the Monarchs in position to challenge for the consolation point were short lived as the Bandits answered with 2 heat maximums of their own in heats 10 and 11. The second after the contentious decision from referee Graeme Hunter to exclude Masters after Jye Etheridge had come down on the first bend meaning the contest was all but over.

The Monarchs woes were not though as Pickering clipped the fence trying to round the field in the last race his bike careering onto the track and hitting Castagna. Pickering seeming ok after more concerned about the damage to machinery and his teammate who needed help getting to the changing rooms.

The Monarchs will now wait the Italian's fitness ahead of a trip to Newcastle on Sunday in the first leg of the KO Cup first round.

Berwick Bandits 56: Harris 10, Proctor 7+2, Pijper 8+1, Flint 4, Wells 12+2, Etheridge 12+1, Bickley 3+2

What the Fork Monarchs 34: Masters 10, Fredriksen 1, Castagna 5, Thomson 3, Pickering 9+1, Hook 1+1, Sarjeant 5+2