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Edinburgh Monarchs v Sheffield Tigers
Premier Trophy (Group), 02 June 2006
Armadale Stadium, Edinburgh
| 1 | Henrik Moller | 2* | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | . | . | 9 | 1 |
| 2 | Theo Pijper | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2* | 1 | . | 14 | 1 |
| 3 | Matthew Wethers | 1* | 3 | 1* | 2* | 2* | . | . | 9 | 4 |
| 5 | Rusty Harrison | 1* | 1 | 3 | 1 | . | . | . | 6 | 1 |
| 6 | Sean Stoddart | 0 | 0 | 0 | . | . | . | . | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Derek Sneddon | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2* | 2 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 1 |
| 1 | Ricky Ashworth | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2* | 2 | . | . | 9 | 1 |
| 3 | Kyle Legault | Fx | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | . | . | 6 | 0 |
| 4 | Emiliano Sanchez | 3 | 2* | 0 | 1# | . | . | . | 6 | 1 |
| 5 | Andre Compton | 3 | 2 | 3 | 6^ | 0 | . | . | 14 | 0 |
| 6 | Paul Cooper | 0 | 1* | 0 | 0 | 0 | . | . | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | Benji Compton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1* | 0 | . | 3 | 1 |
* = BP. ^ = TR . ! = TS (15m Handicap). # = TR (Points Not Doubled). & = TS (Points Not Doubled, 15m Handicap).
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Edinburgh were without William Lawson who is out with a broken arm. They used Rider Replacement at number 4 instead. Sheffield were without Ben Wilson who was practising for tomorrow night’s Grand Prix and they used Rider Replacement to cover for his absence at number 2.. This match was really about the bonus point as it became clear that Sheffield did not have enough firepower to win the match. Edinburgh went into the match 12 points adrift after losing 52-40 at Owlerton. A 1-8 in heat 13 looked to have sunk the Monarchs hopes but two excellent races in heats 14 and 15 saw them home and dry by three points on aggregate. Theo Pijper and Henrik Moller were fast away in the opening heat and Ricky Ashworth never challenged as the Monarchs opened with a 5-1. They looked like adding to it in heat 2. Derek Sneddon was soon in front and off for a big win while Sean Stoddart made just about the worst gate imaginable. However Stoddart was soon after the field and passed Paul Cooper who was again all at sea on the Armadale track. However chasing Benji Compton for second place he fell so the points were shared. Emiliano Sanchez shot from the gate in heat 3 to leave Theo Pijper (R/R) trailing in his wake. It looked as if the Tigers might take a heat advantage from the race since Kyle Legault was third but he fell on the last bend of the third lap causing the race to be stopped and awarded as a 3-3. Andre Compton made a fast start in heat 4 and won comfortably from Sneddon and Rusty Harrison for another shared race taking the score after four races to 14-10. Heat 5 was a cracker. Ricky Ashworth made a fast start and looked to have the race under control but Matthew Wethers was in determined mood and never gave up. On the last two bends he went for a big outside drive and passed Ashworth just before the riders crossed the line. Derek Sneddon’s third place gave the Monarchs a 4-2 advantage increasing their lead to six points. In heat 6 Theo Pijper made the start ahead of Andre Compton but Compton couldn’t really get after Pijper because he was too busy fending off the challenge of Henrik Moller for second place. The 4-2 increased Edinburgh’s lead to eight points and they were on course to pull back the aggregate deficit. However Sheffield took a 1-5 from heat 7. Rusty Harrison demolished the tapes and went from 15 metres back. In the restart Sean Stoddart fell on the first bend and Harrison had to take evasive action which cost him at least another 15 metres. This left Kyle Legault and Emiliano Sanchez to head off for an easy maximum although Harrison never stopped trying and wasn’t far off the Sheffield pair by the end of the race. This cut the lead to only four points but Edinburgh hit back immediately with a 5-1 in heat 8 with Pijper and Sneddon winning comfortably from Kyle Legault restoring the Monarchs’ eight point lead as the score went to 28-20. Andre Compton won heat 9 with Derek Sneddon and Matthew Wethers sharing the race then Edinburgh struck again with another 5-1. It was Henrik Moller and Theo Pijper who took the race with ease from Kyle Legault as Emiliano Sanchez was stuck at the back. A fine race by Rusty Harrison in heat 11 saw him pass Ricky Ashworth but Benji Compton took third from Sean Stoddart and a shared race. Edinburgh then hit home another 5-1 in heat 12 with a fine win for Derek Sneddon. Matthew Wethers came from the back to pass Kyle Legault for the maximum which put the Monarchs 16 points ahead in the match and four on aggregate. The score after 12 races was 44-28. In heat 13 Andre Compton took a TR and both he and Ricky Ashworth made fast starts racing off to a big 1-8 which changed the picture entirely. The Edinburgh lead was down to nine points and they also trailed by three points on aggregate. In heat 14 Emiliano Sanchez took a TR but Sneddon and Wethers romped away for another 5-1 which put the Monarchs 13 points ahead in the match and one on aggregate going into the last heat in which Sheffield needed a heat advantage to rest the bonus point back. They tracked their 1-8 pair of heat 13 in Andre Compton and Ricky Ashworth while Edinburgh sent out Theo Pijper and, rather surprisingly, Henrik Moller. It was the right decision for the home side though as Moller rocketed from gate 4 to round the field and head off for the win. Ricky Ashworth held on for a lap or so but Moller was determined and pulled away. At the back Theo Pijper passed Andre Compton to give Edinburgh a 4-2 and all three points. Match Report by Merlin |