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Edinburgh Monarchs v Berwick Bandits
Premier Trophy (Group), 16 June 2006
Armadale Stadium, Edinburgh

Edinburgh 61
1Henrik Moller32*332 ..131
2Theo Pijper2*2*332* ..123
3Matthew Wethers33333 ..150
5Rusty Harrison3332*0 ..111
6Sean Stoddart3001. ..40
7Derek Sneddon2*12*R. ..52
8(g)Andrew Tully01... ..10
Berwick 34
1Stanislaw Burza14^213 ..110
3Jamie Birkinshaw01*1*12 ..52
4Michal Makovsky12104^ 1.90
5Andreas Bergstrom2122!*0 ..71
6Danny Warwick10000 1*021
7Craig Branney0Fn... ..00

* = BP. ^ = TR . ! = TS (15m Handicap). # = TR (Points Not Doubled). & = TS (Points Not Doubled, 15m Handicap).

Edinburgh were without William Lawson and used R/R for him at number 4. They also nominated Andrew Tully as their number eight. Berwick introduced James Birkinshaw to the side replacing David Meldrum. However with Lee Smethills calling off with a virus infection he was notionally moved to number 2 with Rider Replacement operating in his place. As a result, James Birkinshaw was moved to number 3 to partner Michal Makovsky.

Berwick started with 6 riders but were soon down to 5 after a heat 2 crash involving Craig Branney and Derek Sneddon which resulted in a hospital visit for Branney with a suspected broken ankle. Thankfully it didn’t turn out to be anything worse than sever bruising. While Stanislaw Burza was always a threat, Berwick had no answer to a dominant home side for whom Matthew Wethers was in outstanding form winning from the front and back to complete his first ever 15 point maximum.

Stanislaw Burza was fast away in heat 1 but was passed on the opening bends by Henrik Moller with Theo Pijper joining him shortly after for a 5-1. Craig Branney’s crash in heat 2 meant that Berwick could only field one rider in the ‘all four back’ rerun. Another Edinburgh 5-1 duly materialised but not until Daniel Warwick had passed Derek Sneddon for second place behind Sean Stoddart only to be repassed on the last lap. Another 5-1 for the Monarchs from Matthew Wethers and Theo Pijper in heat 3 looked like being repeated in heat 4 when Rusty Harrison and Derek Sneddon broke clear but Andreas Bergstrom reeled Sneddon in and caught him on the last bend. There was nothing in it on the run in to the line but Bergstrom inched ahead for second place and a 4-2 which took the score to 19-5.

Stanislaw Burza took a TR in heat 5 as Edinburgh gave the R/R ride to number eight Andrew Tully. Although the Berwick man made the gate again, Matthew Wethers, in sparkling form, hunted him down and passed him coming out of bend two on the second lap. With James Birkinshaw third Berwick scored a 3-5 to double their total to 10 points. Andreas Bergstrom worked his way to second place behind Theo Pijper in heat 6 but Henrik Moller lined him up and passed him before the first lap had been completed for another home 5-1 but heat 7 was shared with Rusty Harrison winning from Makovsky and Birkinshaw. Theo Pijper and Derek Sneddon added a 5-1 in heat 8 with Michal Makovsky (R/R) third to take the score after eight races to 35-15.

Matthew Wethers won heat 9 from the gate. With Andrew Tully passing Daniel Warwick to finish behind Andreas Bergstrom the race resulted in a 4-2 before Moller and Pijper added their third 5-1 in heat 10. In heat 11 Andreas Bergstrom came in as a Tactical Substitute from 15 metres back and this worked in Berwick’s favour when Derek Sneddon’s machine packed up on the first bend. Stanislaw Burza was too busy chasing Rusty Harrison to look for his partner so the race finished as a 3-4. Matthew Wethers made it four wins on the trot by taking heat 12 but James Birkinshaw and Daniel Warwick saw off Sean Stoddart for a shared heat making the score 50-25.

Henrik Moller and Rusty Harrison were soon off for a 5-1 in heat 13. Burza chased hard but couldn’t catch Harrison then Michal Makovsky took a TR in heat 14. It was a personal triumph for Matthew Wethers who won the race with ease from Makovsky to complete his five ride maximum. With Sean Stoddart third Berwick took a 4-4 and they scored another 4 points in a surprise heat 15. Without a race winner all night, Stanislaw Burza rocketed from the gate to win the heat by the proverbial mile in a fast time. Henrik Moller suffering from a disintegrating clutch did well to work his way into second place after a poor start but Michal Makovsky held on to third place ahead of the ever pressing Rusty Harrison for a 2-4.

Match Report by Merlin