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Edinburgh Monarchs v Workington Comets
Premier League, 26 August 2005
Armadale Stadium, Edinburgh

Edinburgh 36
1Theo Pijper133.. ..70
2William Lawson0122*. ..51
3Daniel Nermark31*23. ..91
4Rusty Harrison2*20.. ..41
5Ross Brady30... ..30
6Matthew Wethers2*11*00 ..42
7Robert Ksiezak301.. ..40
Workington 36
1(g)Stuart Robson2*33.. ..81
2Shaun Tacey3R02*. ..51
3Scott Robson13R2. ..60
4Kauko Nieminen02*1.. ..31
5James Wright221.. ..50
6(g)Scott James10... ..10
7Tomasz PiszczM1*331* ..82

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

Edinburgh had Ross Brady back in the side at number 5 while Workington had Stuart Robson as a guest for Carl Stonehewer at number 1. Scott Robson returned to the side at number 3, Scott James filled the number 6 berth and newcomer, Tomasz Piszcz, made his league debut at number 7.

The track was very wet after heavy afternoon rain and when the rain started again it looked highly unlikely that the match would be completed. The rain got very heavy before the start of heat 8 and the riders at the tapes for the start of that heat returned to the pits with the referee in ‘discussions’ with both riders and managements. It came as a great surprise to the crowd when it was announced that the meeting would continue because by then the track had puddles on the bends and it was clear that the objective was to get to heat 12 to produce a result.

With conditions as wet as they were this match always looked a bit of a lottery with the emphasis on gating. Things looked bleak for Edinburgh as early as heat 1 when Shaun Tacey and Stuart Robson took a comfortable 1-5 from the gate but in heat 2 the home side squared the match. Tomasz Piszcz couldn’t get his bike going so the race proceeded with three riders and was won by Robert Ksiezak and Matthew Wethers from Scott James. Edinburgh scored another 5-1 in heat 3 as Daniel Nermark rode an excellent first two bends to round the field including his partner, Rusty Harrison, who had a wobble on the second bend before following his partner home well ahead of the Comets’ pair of Scott Robson and Kauko Nieminen. Ross Brady fought to his way to the front after a hard first corner with James Wright in heat 4 and the heat was shared with Robert Ksiezak falling at the back. This took the score after four heats to 14-10.

In heat 5 Shaun Tacey never left the tapes but Stuart Robson rode an excellent first two corners to round both Rusty Harrison and Daniel Nermark. Although the two Edinburgh riders chased him all the way Robson took the race win for a shared heat. Edinburgh stretched their lead to six points when Theo Pijper and William Lawson made good starts in heat 6. Although Pijper won comfortably Lawson was reeled in by James Wright and the Comets’ man passed him exiting the fourth bend of the third lap for second place. The Monarchs got a rude awakening in heat 7, however. Scott Robson and Kauko Nieminen made amends for their poor race in heat 3 by rocketing to the front with Ross Brady stuck behind them. Brady withdrew from the race after a couple of laps and made no further appearance for the home side. The 1-5 to the Comets reduced the gap to two points and it stayed that way when Tomasz Piszcz jetted to the front in heat 8 for a shared heat. Shaun Tacey held second place for a while but made a mess of the third bend letting William Lawson and Matthew Wethers through. Wethers also had problems on the third bend so Tacey decided to take a further interest in the race and started the chase again to no avail. The score after eight heats was 25-23. Before this race had started the rain became heavy and heat times began to deteriorate as the track got wetter.

It was now fairly evident that this match would be abandoned after heat 12 so the next four heats were going to be crucial. In heat 9 Workington brought in Tomasz Piszcz again and he made another jet-propelled start to lead Daniel Nermark home with James Wright third and Rusty Harrison at the back looking less than interested for a Comets 2-4 which squared the match at 27-27. Edinburgh struck a vital blow in heat 10 when Theo Pijper and William Lawson had no trouble taking a 5-1. Scott Robson made a mess of the third bend while at the back and rode straight into the pits while the race was in progress and Kauko Nieminen cruised slowly home on the last lap for the third place point. In heat 11 with no Ross Brady Edinburgh were forced to track their two reserves. Stuart Robson had an easy time winning the heat and, although Robert Ksiezak held second place for a couple of laps, he was eventually passed by Shaun Tacey as Workington levelled again with the 1-5.

Then came the race of the night in heat 12 – crucial because it was likely to be the last one. Another cracking gate from Scott Robson and Tomasz Piszcz had Daniel Nermark struggling back in third place. However Nermark was soon past Piszcz and set off to reel in Scott Robson. This he did on the third/fourth bends of the third lap with a remarkable cut back given the conditions to win the race for a shared heat. As expected the referee then called a halt to the meeting which gave Edinburgh two points – one for the draw and one for the bonus. Since they would not have completed this match had it been rerun following a postponement before the cut off date for the Young Shield qualifiers Edinburgh will be satisfied with the outcome. However Workington might just have fancied continuing given the circumstances.

Match Report by Merlin