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Edinburgh Monarchs v Workington Comets
Premier Trophy (Group), 14 April 2006
Armadale Stadium, Edinburgh

Edinburgh 44
1Henrik Moller1Fx31*. ..51
2Theo Pijper3Fx21. ..60
3Matthew Wethers1*011*. ..32
4William Lawson22332 ..120
5Rusty Harrison222*2F ..81
6Sean Stoddart200.. ..20
7Derek Sneddon1*1*1*32 ..83
Workington 45
1Paul ThorpFn.... ..00
2Tomasz Piszcz2331. ..90
3Ritchie Hawkins01Fx3. ..40
4James Wright33221 ..110
5Garry Stead33233 ..140
6Lee Derbyshire02*000 ..21
7Aidan Collins03010 01*51

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

Both Edinburgh and Workington were at full strength for this match coming off away wins at Newcastle and Glasgow respectively in search of a top two finish in the section. Workington were good value for this one point win. Edinburgh will rue the points they threw away, particularly the two point free gift Lee Derbyshire took in heat 6, but the Comets effectively had to race the match without Paul Thorp.

Disaster struck Workington in heat 1. In the first running of the heat Tomasz Piszcz had an argument with Theo Pijper’s rear wheel on the first bend and both riders fell resulting in an all-four-back rerun. In the second running of the heat Tomasz Piszcz turned so sharply from the outside gate that Paul Thorp had to straighten up having run out of space to turn. He accelerated straight across the bend at full speed with his bike slamming head-first into the safety fence and the rider being catapulted over the fence onto the dog track. It looked a very serious accident but amazingly Thorp escaped with nothing worse than a shaking and bruising. He did however have to pull out of the match and it looked as though the Comets would struggle without him. Not a bit of it. Such was their dominance from the gate that they produced seven consecutive race winners from heats 2 to 8 inclusive on a very slick and greasy track on which gating was of paramount importance.

The second rerun of heat 1 was again with four riders, Aidan Collins replacing Thorp. This was won by Theo Pijper with Tomasz Piszcz holding off the challenge of Henrik Moller for a 4-2. Collins appeared again in heat 2 and won from the gate but Sean Stoddart and Derek Sneddon both passed Lee Derbyshire who had also made a fast start for a shared heat. James Wright got the better of William Lawson on the opening two bends of heat 3 for a race win which shared the points then Garry Stead rocketed from the tapes in heat 4 for another shared heat as the score after four races went to 13-11.

Workington pulled level in heat 5. Tomasz Piszcz left the Edinburgh pair for dead at the tapes. William Lawson followed him home but Aidan Collins took third place ahead of Matthew Wethers for a 2-4. Then came heat 6 which was to prove decisive. In the first running of the race Theo Pijper made a fast start but behind him Garry Stead ‘collected’ Henrik Moller’s front wheel causing Moller to fall. Rather harshly and to the rider’s amazement the referee excluded Moller. In the rerun, Garry Stead made the start this time and it looked like a Workington 2-4 but Theo Pijper hit the safety fence on the second bend of the last lap and careered down the back straight as Lee Derbyshire cruised past for a 0-5 which put the Monarchs five points down at 15-20. The Comets increased their lead with a 2-4 in heat 7. Again the impressive James Wright was fast away for the race win with Rusty Harrison in second. At the back Ritchie Hawkins beat Sean Stoddart to put the Comets 7 points in front. Tomasz Piszcz made another electric start in heat 8 leaving Theo Pijper and Derek Sneddon in his wake for a shared heat which took the score to 20-27 after eight races.

Edinburgh looked in big trouble but within the space of three heats they were back in front again! In the first running of heat 9 Garry Stead ran into William Lawson and the referee ordered a rerun with all-four-back. In the rerun, William Lawson got the better of Stead round the first two bends to go on and win comfortably. Matthew Wethers picked up the third place point so the Monarchs scored a 4-2 to cut the gap to 5 points. Edinburgh scored another 4-2 in heat 10. In the first running of the race Ritchie Hawkins fell causing a rerun just when the Edinburgh pair had sorted themselves out into a 5-1 position. In the rerun a tussle between Henrik Moller and James Wright saw Wright get the better of the exchange coming off the second bend but Moller drove round the outside of him on the third and fourth bends for an excellent pass to win the race. Theo Pijper fell on the second last bend but picked himself up to push home for the third place point. The 4-2 cut the gap to three points but in heat 12 Edinburgh wiped that out and took a one point lead when Derek Sneddon and Rusty Harrison saw off Tomasz Piszcz who, this time, did not make a fast start. The 5-1 took the score to 33-32. Heat 12 looked to be crucial with the result difficult to predict judging by the earlier performances of the riders. As he did at Glasgow last Sunday, Ritchie Hawkins reserved his best race for last hounding and picking off the fast starting Sneddon to win the race. Derek Sneddon and Matthew Wethers held off Aidan Collins for third place so the race was shared and the heat 12 score was 36-35.

Another lightning start for Garry Stead was good enough for a win in heat 13 and shared heat then in heat 14 William Lawson beat James Wright for a valuable share of the points which left the Monarchs a point ahead going into the last race. It was all over by the second bend, though, when Garry Stead rocketed from the tapes again with Rusty Harrison falling on the inside of the first bend. James Wright’s third place gave the Comets the 2-4 they needed for victory.

Match Report by Merlin