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Edinburgh Monarchs v Stoke Potters
Premier Trophy (Group), 22 April 2005
Armadale Stadium, Edinburgh

Edinburgh 53
1Daniel Nermark2*2*132 ..102
2Theo Pijper33331* ..131
3Rusty Harrison2232. ..90
4Cameron Woodward1*011*. ..32
5Ross Brady2*12F. ..51
6William Lawson301*2. ..61
7(g)Joachim Kugelmann2*311*. ..72
Stoke 43
1(g)James GrievesR6^323 ..140
2Paul Clews1120. ..40
3Robbie Kessler36^230 ..140
4Peter CarrF2*03. ..51
5Alan Mogridge1121*. ..51
6Rob Grant1000. ..10
7Barrie Evans0000. ..00

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

With two track experts facing them this was supposed to be a tough match for Edinburgh where Stoke came visiting with more hope than usual. Monarchs had Joachim Kugelmann as a guest replacement for the injured Robert Ksiezak but otherwise were at full strength. Stoke had James Grieves at number one for Jan Staechmann and Peter Carr at number four making his return to the scene of his former glories.

Edinburgh made short work of the opening heat when Theo Pijper and Daniel Nermark got the drop on James Grieves for a 5-1 start. Grieves pulled out on the third lap but the Monarchs pair were gone by then. Another 5-1 followed in heat 2 from William Lawson and very impressive guest, Joachim Kugelmann, before Stoke stopped the rot when Robbie Kessler made the first of a series of lightning starts. Peter Carr had one of his impressive second bend cut-backs to pass the MonarchsÆ pair but by lap four he had been passed by Rusty Harrison and Cameron Woodward before falling off on the third bend. Another 5-1 came MonarchsÆ way in heat 4 when Joachim Kugelmann had a comfortable win from Ross Brady and Alan Mogridge. The score after heat 4 was 18-6 and a rout was on the cards.

However, James Grieves took a TR in heat 5 and held on to beat the ever pressing Harrison. At the back Paul Clews took third place from Cameron Woodward for a 2-7 to pull the score back to 20-13. The Pijper/Nermark pairing had a comfortable 5-1 in heat 6 to open up an 11 point lead so Stoke then gave a TR to Robbie Kessler. Another fast start from Kessler resulted in another 6 pointer and, with Peter Carr passing Ross Brady for second place, Stoke took a big 1-8 and were only four points in arrears at 26-22.

Edinburgh then took a string of three 4-2s to open up a 10 point lead at 38-28 and all the remaining five heats were shared. The pick of these heats were, firstly, heat 10 when Theo Pijper ended Robbie KesslerÆs winning streak while Daniel Nermark made absolutely sure that Peter Carr was not making any inside line pass. Then, in heat 12, Rusty Harrison and Robbie Kessler had an excellent battle for the lead which ended with Kessler taking a wide outside sweep off the last bend to win the heat. Finally, in heat 13, there was a magnificent race between James Grieves and Daniel Nermark with the Edinburgh rider eventually forcing his way past Grieves for the heat win. But with two non-scoring reserves all that Stoke could really hope for was damage limitation which they did quite successfully. Special mention must be made to Joachim Kugelmann who was a transformed rider from the one who appeared in BerwickÆs colours just two weeks ago. His contribution to the Edinburgh total was crucial.

Match Report by Merlin