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Edinburgh Monarchs v Glasgow Tigers
Challenge, 31 March 2006
Armadale Stadium, Edinburgh

Edinburgh 42
1Henrik Moller102.. ..30
2Theo Pijper3331*. ..101
3Matthew Wethers2*202. ..61
4William Lawson3R2.. ..50
5Rusty Harrison2*32.. ..71
6Sean Stoddart1*00.. ..11
7Derek Sneddon232*3. ..101
Glasgow 36
1Danny Bird26^3.. ..110
2David McAllanR111. ..30
3Lee Dicken12F1. ..40
4Kauko Nieminen01*3.. ..41
5Shane Parker126^.. ..90
6Robert Ksiezak31*010 ..51
7James CockleFx0... ..00

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

Edinburgh finally got their season under way after three rain-offs although the rain did its best to prevent this match taking place. It started raining as the match began and did not relent all night. However, the track stood up remarkably well with respectable times being recorded and only two falls. By the end of heat 12 the rain was getting steadily worse and the match was sensibly abandoned. The Monarchs had Henrik Moller making his home debut. Glasgow ’s away win at Berwick was fast becoming a distant memory as they too had suffered three rain-offs prior to this match taking place.

The Monarchs opened with a 4-2 when Theo Pijper roared round the outside of Danny Bird on the first two bends for a comfortable win. David McAllan never left the starting gate leaving Henrik Moller to pick up third place unchallenged. In heat 2, the Glasgow reserves left their Edinburgh counterparts for dead at the tapes but weren’t going quickly enough. There was nothing between the riders as they entered the last lap. Derek Sneddon slipped inside James Cockle to challenge Robert Ksiezak as Sean Stoddart reeled in Cockle. On the third bend of the last lap, Stoddart fell as did Cockle who demolished the safety fence into the bargain. Stoddart picked himself up to push home for third place as Robert Ksiezak held on for the win. When the dust (or should it be mud?) settled the race had been shared. Edinburgh then hit the Tigers with consecutive 5-1s. William Lawson and Matthew Wethers led Lee Dicken and Kauko Nieminen from start to finish before the Tigers fans watched in disbelief as Shane Parker was beaten into third place by the fast-starting Derek Sneddon and Rusty Harrison in heat 4. This brought the score after 4 heats to 17-7.

Immediately Glasgow gave Danny Bird a TR and he produced the goods with a tapes to flag win. William Lawson suffered an engine failure at the tapes and it looked as though Glasgow might take a big 1-8 as David McAllan joined his partner up front. However Matthew Wethers restricted the damage by passing McAllan for second place. Nonetheless Glasgow’s 2-7 halved the Edinburgh lead to five points. In heat 6 Theo Pijper made another fast start with Robert Ksiezak slotting into second place. Ksiezak managed to hold up Henrik Moller who had worked himself into third and Shane Parker soon pounced to pass Moller and his own partner for a shared heat. Rusty Harrison won heat 7 for a shared heat but Edinburgh scored another 5-1 in heat 8. Theo Pijper and Derek Sneddon were soon out in front of David McAllan and Robert Ksiezak to open up a nine point lead and take the score after eight heats to 40-21.

Handily for Glasgow the nine point lead was established just before Shane Parker was due out for his third ride so he was duly nominated for a TR. He had little difficulty obliging in the fast time of the night by taking the full six points beating William Lawson in the process. At the back Robert Ksiezak, after making another fast start, held off the challenges of Matthew Wethers so Glasgow scored their second 2-7 of the match to cut the deficit to four points. Edinburgh had high hopes of taking an advantage in heat 10 but, although Henrik Moller gated well to lead for two laps, Kauko Nieminen burst into life to pass the young Dane and win the race ending Theo Pijper’s winning run in the process. This left the gap at four points but the Tigers cut it to two in heat 11. Danny Bird was never challenged in winning the heat from Rusty Harrison but David McAllan took third place from Sean Stoddart for a 2-4. Edinburgh immediately responded with a 5-1 in heat 12. The highly impressive Derek Sneddon made another fast start and won comfortably as Matthew Wethers slotted in behind him ahead of Robert Ksiezak. The score after 12 heats was 42-36.

At this point the rain which had persisted all night finally got too heavy to continue so the match was abandoned. Since heat 12 had been reached the result stands and Edinburgh carry a six point advantage to the second leg.

Match Report by Merlin