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Edinburgh Monarchs v Glasgow Tigers
Challenge, 06 October 2006
Armadale Stadium, Edinburgh

Edinburgh 47
1Theo Pijper10332 ..90
2Henrik Moller0131. ..50
3(g)Kevin Little1*023. ..61
4(g)Chris Kerr231*3. ..91
5William Lawson3312*1* ..102
6Sean Stoddart1*1*0.. ..22
7Derek Sneddon2R2*11 ..61
Glasgow 43
1Danny Bird31*3R. ..71
2David McAllan2*212*. ..72
3Lee Dicken000.. ..00
4Kauko Nieminen3222Fx ..90
5Shane Parker23313 ..120
6Robert Ksiezak32*R20 ..71
7James Cockle01*0F. ..11

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

Edinburgh were without Daniele Tessari and Matthew Wethers so they recruited Redcar pair Kevin Little and Chris Kerr as guests to replace them at numbers 3 and 4. Glasgow were again at full strength.

Once again Glasgow arrived at Armadale with high hopes of winning but again failed to do so despite an excellent opening six heats which saw them storm into an eight point lead. The Edinburgh/Redcar select must still be wondering how they managed to win the match! With the Premier League fours and pairs due to be raced over the next two days the Glasgow contingent were more concerned about completing the match without injuries but Lady Luck had other ideas. Kauko Nieminen crashed heavily in heat 14 when he hit the fence and suffered a broken bone in his shoulder which ended his season prematurely.

It was a dismal start for the Monarchs in the opening heat when Danny Bird stormed from the tapes followed by his team mate David McAllan, also riding a Bird machine. Theo Pijper tried a number of different lines but McAllan kept his second place by hugging the line and getting some good drive off the inside of the second bend to thwart the Monarchs’ captain. With Henrik Moller suffering motor problems at the back the Tigers opened with a 1-5. Robert Ksiezak gated to win the reserves race for a shared heat then Kauko Nieminen did likewise over the Redcar pairing in heat 3. William Lawson became the first home race winner by taking heat 4 comfortably from Shane Parker. Hopes of a 4-2 were dashed when Derek Sneddon in third place suffered an engine failure allowing James Cockle to pick up the third place point so the race was shared and the score after the opening four races was 10-14.

Chris Kerr made a good start to heat 5 and won it comfortably but Kevin Little packed up on the second bend leaving McAllan and Bird to share the race. Things looked decidedly bleak for the Monarchs when Glasgow hit home another 1-5 in heat 6. Again it was the Pijper/Moller partnership which succumbed as Parker and Ksiezak stormed from the tapes. Moller looked on the verge of passing Ksiezak on a number of occasions but didn’t quite manage it so the Tigers found themselves 8 points in front. William Lawson won again in heat 7 beating Kauko Nieminen in the process. This time he got some support as Sean Stoddart, who led Nieminen for couple of laps before being passed by the Finn, took third place from Lee Dicken so Edinburgh scored a 4-2 which cut the gap to six points. In heat 7 the Monarchs pulled another four points back with a 5-1. Robert Ksiezak again made a fast start but, as Henrik Moller dived underneath him on the opening bend of the last lap, Ksiezak’s bike began to misbehave and he was passed by Sneddon and McAllan too. This took the score after eight races to 23-25.

Shane Parker scored a tapes to flag win in heat 9 but Kevin Little and Chris Kerr filled the minor places for a shared race before the Monarchs finally levelled the tie in heat 10. Theo Pijper at last shook off whatever had been ailing him to beat Kauko Nieminen while Henrik Moller was third. This gave Edinburgh the 4-2 they needed for equality but it didn’t last long. In heat 11 William Lawson was excluded under the two minute rule and went from 15 metres back. Bird and McAllan flew from the tapes again while Sean Stoddart gave chase. He passed McAllan twice but couldn’t make it stick so surrendered the challenge to William Lawson. There just wasn’t enough of the race left for Lawson to threaten McAllan seriously so the Tigers took another 1-5 to lead by four points again. Back came the Monarchs in heat 12. Kevin Little beat Robert Ksiezak replacing Lee Dicken while Derek Sneddon took third from James Cockle. The resultant 4-2 left the home side just two points adrift but, with the big Glasgow finish to come, things still didn’t look bright for Edinburgh with the score after 12 heats reading 35-37.

It was Edinburgh who scored a 5-1 in heat 13 as Theo Pijper and William Lawson made the gate from Bird and Parker. Bird packed up and, although Parker reeled Lawson in, he couldn’t manage to pass him so Edinburgh took the lead for the first time in the match with the score now at 40-38. Chris Kerr executed a fine inside pass on Kauko Nieminen in heat 14 to win the race while Derek Sneddon held off Robert Ksiezak at the back for the 4-2 which doubled Edinburgh’s lead to four points. Then disaster hit Glasgow in heat 15. Kauko Nieminen off gate 3 took William Lawson very wide on the second bend but got out of control and hit the fence coming off the bend. He fell heavily and, although he was able to walk back to the pits subsequent hospital investigation discovered that he had broken a bone in his shoulder. In the rerun Shane Parker rocketed from the gate but an excellent race developed between him and Theo Pijper. The Edinburgh man turned sharply on the apex of the bends to make long straights which enabled him to build up a fair head of steam but Parker riding round the outside line always had just about enough to keep his nose in front. William Lawson finished third for a shared race which gives Edinburgh a narrow four point lead to take to Ashfield for the second leg.

Match Report by Merlin