Team Websites for News and More Detailed Match Reports:
Edinburgh Monarchs Website (Official)
Friends of Edinburgh Speedway

Live Updates for a Current or Recent match: Live Speedway Updates
Discussion on Matches and Other Speedway Issues: Speedway Forum

Edinburgh Monarchs v Rye House Rockets
KO Cup (1st Round), 03 June 2005
Armadale Stadium, Edinburgh

Edinburgh 47
1Theo Pijper333Fx0 ..90
2William Lawson0131. ..50
3Ross Brady1*2333 ..121
4Daniel Nermark2F2*2*. ..62
5Rusty Harrison3111. ..60
6Cameron Woodward202*R3 ..71
7David McAllan002*.. ..21
Rye House 43
1Stuart Robson232*32 ..121
2Edward Kennett1*113. ..61
3Brent WernerF3Fx0. ..30
4Daniel King32*2X. ..71
5Chris Neath2212*1* ..82
6Steve Boxall100.. ..10
7Tommy Allen31*F11 ..61

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

The draw for the KO Cup paired Edinburgh with Rye House. With the Rockets favourites to lift the Premier League title this year this looked to be a tough draw for the home side. Edinburgh were at full strength but the introduction of the new averages meant a reshuffling of the side. Rye House tracked a full strength side.

This was a match of two halves. Over the first seven heats Edinburgh were outgated and outclassed by a very determined looking Rye House side on a track which was very wet after heavy showers prior to the start. However as the track improved and dried out over the remaining eight heats the Rockets were made to look a very ordinary side indeed as the Monarchs took command.

Theo Pijper won the opening heat despite being hard pressed by Stuart Robson for a share of the points but it was Rye House who took the lead in heat 2 as Tommy Allen led from the tapes. In heat 3 Daniel King beat the home pair of Nermark and Brady as Brent Werner fell on the first bend for another shared heat then Rusty Harrison rounded the fast gating Neath and Allen for another 3-3 in heat 4 which saw the score standing at 11-13.

Stuart Robson passed Ross Brady to win heat 5 and Edward Kennett rode hard under Daniel Nermark causing the Monarchs rider to fall so Rye House doubled their lead to four points with the 2-4 but Theo Pijper won heat 5 with Lawson third for a 4-2 in heat 6. Edinburgh were in real trouble in heat 7 as Werner and King raced to an easy 5-1 with Harrison unable to mount a challenge and it was hard to see how the home side were going to get back into this match with the score now at 18-24.

But never underestimate this Edinburgh side. Heat 8 was the turning point. Cameron Woodward replaced David McAllan and together with William Lawson the Monarchs pair left Kennett and Allen floundering at the back. Another Edinburgh 5-1 was the result of heat 9 as Chris Neath could only watch Ross Brady and Daniel Nermark take the maximum to put Edinburgh in front for the first time at 28-26. In heat 10 Brent Werner fell at the back while Edinburgh were on a 4-2 but it was the same result in the rerun as Theo Pijper stopped Daniel King’s winning run and Edinburgh were four points ahead at 32-28.

Edinburgh’s revival was cruelly ended in heat 11. It looked as though another Edinburgh 5-1 was on the cards as Woodward and Harrison hit the front and were off but Harrison nearly came off on the fourth bend and again on the first bend as he got badly out of shape to slip to the back. Worse still for Edinburgh, Cameron Woodward suffered an engine failure when well in front on the last lap and the Rye House pairing of Robson and Kennett were gifted a 1-5 instead of losing the 5-1 which looked likely. This squared the match again at 33-33.

Undaunted by that Edinburgh hit the Rockets with another if unexpected 5-1 in heat 12. Ross Brady hit the front and was joined by David McAllan who was pointless prior to this race for an excellent 5-1 ahead of Tommy Allen and Brent Werner. So Edinburgh were four points ahead again. In heat 13 Edinburgh were subjected to a poor refereeing decision. Robson and Neath got the drop on Pijper from the gate but, as the Edinburgh captain made to cut back on the second bend, his manoeuvre confused Rusty Harrison who laid his bike down. The red lights came on immediately for some obscure reason and Pijper was excluded presumably for causing Harrison to fall. In the rerun the poor gating Harrison was left forlornly to chase the Rockets pair and the 1-5 levelled the scores again at 39-39.

Still Edinburgh would not lie down and they took another 5-1 in heat 14. In the first running of the heat King and Allen got tangled on the first bend and both fell. Daniel King was excluded and Edinburgh took the easiest of 5-1s as Allen at the back gave up the chase. This left the Monarchs four points ahead going into heat 15 which was won from the gate by Ross Brady with Robson and Neath following him home for a shared heat. A four point lead doesn’t look enough for Edinburgh in the second leg tomorrow night but with this Edinburgh side you never know.

Match Report by Merlin