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Edinburgh Monarchs v Hull Vikings
Premier Trophy (Group), 29 April 2005
Armadale Stadium, Edinburgh

Edinburgh 42
1Daniel Nermark12*2*12 ..82
2Theo PijperM3231* ..91
3Rusty Harrison11*1*2. ..52
4Cameron Woodward0222^. ..60
5Ross Brady2230. ..70
6William Lawson02R03 ..50
7(g)Ashley Jones1*1*00. ..22
Hull 49
1Paul Thorp2*31*30 ..92
2Emiliano Sanchez3F323 ..110
4Emil Kramer3312. ..90
5Garry Stead3032*3 ..111
6Craig Branney32*110 1Fx81
7Joel ParsonsFx010. ..10

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

Edinburgh had lost their previous two home matches to Hull. On this occasion they were looking to pull back an 11 point deficit from the match at Hull but once again a rampant Vikings team brushed aside their efforts to win with something to spare. This result seriously jeopardises Monarchs’ chances of taking the second qualifying spot in the section behind Workington. Edinburgh had King’s Lynn reserve Ashley Jones as a guest for the injured Robert Ksiezak while Hull used Rider Replacement for the injured Lee Dicken but welcomed back Joel Parsons after his broken collarbone injury. In fact Hull were virtually a five man team as it soon became clear that Joel Parsons was far from race fit.

Things went wrong for Edinburgh right from the opening heat when Theo Pijper failed to make it to the start line in time and was replaced by William Lawson. Emiliano Sanchez and Paul Thorp gave a clear indication of what was to come by jetting from the start to an unchallenged 1-5. Heat 2 was rerun after Joel Parsons, well at the back, fell on the fourth bend with Craig Branney leading the race. Branney was unfazed and won the rerun for a shared heat. Heat 3 was another 1-5 to Hull. Emil Kramer and Craig Branney (taking the R/R) made the gate and that was that. Then in heat 4 it looked as though Edinburgh might provide a race winner when Ross Brady shot to the front. However Garry Stead executed an inside pass to share the heat. At this point the score was 8-16 with all the Hull riders except Parsons still unbeaten.

Heat 5 saw Paul Thorp jet from the start so the race was between the other three for the minor places. Cameron Woodward and Rusty Harrison combined to keep Emiliano Sanchez at the back and the Hull rider eventually fell off on the last bend in an effort to pass the Monarchs’ pair. The result was another shared heat. At last Edinburgh produced one of their four race winners when Theo Pijper and Daniel Nermark took a 5-1 after Garry Stead had made a real hash of the second bend. However two 2-4s in the next two heats for Hull restored their eight point advantage. The score was now 20-28.

Garry Stead made it eight Hull race winners in nine heats by taking the flag in heat 9 but Cameron Woodward and Rusty Harrison relegated Craig Branney to the back for a shared heat. Then in heat 10 Edinburgh got within touching distance again with another 5-1 from Pijper and Nermark to make the score 28-32. A fast gate by Ross Brady was enough to see off the dangerous Sanchez/Thorp pair in heat 11 but Hull went six in front in heat 12 won by Sanchez, taking the R/R, from Harrison with Branney third. The score was now 33-39 and heat 13 looked ominous for the Monarchs with Thorp and Stead out for the Vikings.

So it proved as the Hull pair hit the front and were never challenged which more or less tied the match up with the Vikings now 10 ahead with just two races left. Edinburgh needed an 8-1, 5-1 finish for a win. In heat 14 Cameron Woodward took the TR and, as Lawson hit the front, with great determination Woodward passed Craig Branney on the inside then Emil Kramer on the outside on the third and fourth bends. However Branney had gone down under the pressure and the race was rerun. In the rerun Lawson again hit the front and Woodward again got ahead of Kramer. But in his efforts to get clear of the Hull rider and pass his partner for the 8-1, Woodward went just too wide on the first two bends of the last lap allowing Kramer to force his way past up the back straight for second place. The 5-2 result for Edinburgh sealed their fate and in the last lap Garry Stead jetted to the front for another Hull race winner with Paul Thorp at the back looking less than interested.

Match Report by Merlin