SCOTLAND1314

Quite decent night's speedway. Two 5-1's in the first two heats made it very difficult for the away men. The Monarchs certainly hit them hard and hit them early and it paid dividends. All the home men scored well. With Cookie and Max scoring some really good points but for me it was also really encouraging to see Fox score his highest ever score for the Monarchs including a super win over a hard charging Kerr in heat 14. Robson was trying like a bear all night, King scored okay, Kerr deserved more points for his efforts, Lindgren has scored better at the Dale. For my money Max's heat 5 win over Danny King was a quality ride from tapes to flag with the home man keeping his form for all 4 laps whilst the away man lost his form after 3 laps. Heat 12 was a belter with Max gating and Robson and Worrall challenging to come by. From where I was standing Robson was nearly through coming out of bend 2 but Max pulled away ...for Worrall to round Robson on bend 4 and then his partner in bend 1... Robson then challenged like a bear..with Max rearing coming out of bend 4 (lap 3 after hitting a grippy patch) no idea how he got the thing under control bar less keeping second place. Quality race.

Well that turned out to be a far bigger win for the home men than looked possible after the first few heats. With Richie Worrall and Gino Manzares going unbeaten in their first two rides and Heeps chipping in with a heat win to put Ipswich up by 2 points after 5 heats the garden wasn't looking rosey for the Monarchs. However a last to second (behind his partner) by Sedgy in heat 6 proved a catalyst to an incredible burst of scoring from the Monarchs five 5-1's in a row and all of a sudden Ipswich were all at sea and clutching at straws to find a way back into the match. It was not to be for the visitors with the home men seeing the match out to a comfortable 56 - 36 win. Get well soon to Aaron Fox (jings apparently you could see down to the bone with the cut to his leg).

Myself and few others were on our way to Peterborough (from Scunthorpe) and hadn't heard the meeting was off. However, one of the Edinburgh Promotion went out their way to contact us and inform us of the situation at an early stage so that we could make alternative arrangements. Hats off.

A bit one sided tonight but nonetheless there were a few cameo rides. Heat 4 the move by Stevie Worrall on the first turn to take Auty and Campton wide was a lovely move and Sam took advantage of the gap to pop through into the lead. Heat 7 good determined ride by Sam to finally see off a good Birks 2 or 3 lap challenge. Heat 10 was the race of the night for me and although Douglas finished his race in an untidy heap on the last bend he definitely deserved more for his efforts. Seemingly from nowhere he popped out the start and rode a fantastic 3 and 3/4 laps whilst Cookie was tripping over himself for a couple of laps and finally sorted himself out on the last lap ... lining Douglas up coming out of turn 1/2 that resulted in Cookie charging hard under Douglas on turn 3/4 ... there didn't appear to be contact but perhaps Douglas moved off line and found the fence fast approaching. Great race and good to see Douglas pick himself up. Heat 13 Theo gated on Cookie but sucummbed to another 3/4 bend inside pass from Cookie. It was also nice to see Cookie team riding and from where I was viewing, he seemed to be pushing his partners to go faster whilst riding shotgun. Good night's work.

This was a thoroughly enoyable meeting. If Glasgow had managed to finish with 2 riders in each of the last 4 heats I think their winning margin would have been bigger. All the Glasgow riders chipped in with decent points but the star of the show imo was young Berge who was a real joy to watch. I really hope the wee man can get over his injuries very soon and can kick on with his career.

Thank you for that.

How is the weather looking for the battle of the big cats?

True. But Wolbert and Lemon are seasoned professionals and they'll be hurting as much as the fans.. not least financially. These guys will come good soon, probably on Sunday. Berge looks an exciting talent it would definitely have been nice to see if The Fish could have reeled him in. (ooft sorry)

I honestly think Glasgow will win this one. Granted one or two have struggled for consistency but I don't think it'll take much to get Glasgow to a winning total. Rusty, Berge and Pijper have been solid enough at home so far and could well get better scores. I felt the return to Denmark last Friday/Saturday didn't appear to help the reserves on Sunday. So I reckon they can return to scoring ways. The margin of victory will be down to Lemon and Wolbert imo. If they ride to their average then it could be a very good afternoon for you guys.

What's the forecast for tomorrow? Given the bit of form that Glasgow exhibited down at Redcar they'll be looking to get this one run... Berge is looking like he'll be worth the admission alone.

Glasgow to win this one by at least 7

I guess it was just one of those days yesterday that come along in sport. Edinburgh riders dug their collective gating gloves out again and they really did so superbly well, and rode like a team with confidence. Conversely Glasgow seemed to have left their gating gloves in the locker room. The sun probably made it awkward to provide an ideal racing strip that said I didn't think it was too bad although it didn't seem to offer as much grip around the outside (as it did in our previous visit - allowing some super passing). Lemon seemed to have a nightmare of a day with machinery so his poor score is understandable. Kevin had a real nightmare which is so hard to understand given his tremendous display on Friday, where he looked back to his best. One can only assume (rightly/wrongly) that his woes were machinery related also. The Glasgow reserves seemed to be off the boil yesterday but perhaps Edinburgh's reserves and second string had a part to play in their scores with Aaron looking much happier, Justin popping out more starts and Derek likewise. I thought Theo rode fine Harrison had a good day but Berge was the stand out for the home men he looks a great find. So a combination of a real bad/unlucky day at the office for a few home men and an Edinburgh team bang in form produced a one sided contest with the record books being reached for (briefly) again. Edinburgh are looking very powerful at present but we'll see how the new greensheets impact this run of form. Glasgow don't have their troubles to seek and have reached that point where it is important to pull together and build on what they have. Perhaps a day or two behind closed doors training to iron out a few problems and help build confidence again. I genuinely don't think they are too far off being a good team, certainly at home.

Cookie is one of those riders that doesn't come along too often, and it has been a joy to watch his progress. I must admit to being a fan from the first time I saw him race when Workington arrived at The Dale. On one of those visits I recall him leading The Fish around the Dale for over 3 laps... no mean feat at the time. He's worked so hard off the track on fitness, bike set up etc. and thoroughly deserves any personal rewards he gets from that dedication. A side of his character that may not be obvious to all is the help he offers team mates with numerous Edinburgh riders benefitting from his and his crew's help throughout the seasons. Will this be his last season at the Dale, well who knows. If it is the Edinburgh promotion will have to pull another incredible signing (or two) out of the bag to replace him. That said they've done it before.. not least with Cookie himself... regarded at the time as a huge gamble by some. With the above in mind I'll be enjoying his races whilst he's still wearing the blue and gold.... 'mon the Cookie

Well I would imagine the thing on most people's lips leaving the stadium tonight would have been 'what if'... 'what if the Danish reserves had ridden for Glasgow tonight' The Tigers got off to a decent start by taking the chequered flag 4 times in the first 5 heats but still trailed 16-14, therein lay the problem for the away men.. heat advantages were thin on the ground (2 all night and one of those because of a double points score for Pijper). The Monarchs appeared less sharp from the tapes tonight than at any point this season so far, with Cookie in particular not anywhere near his devastating best from the tapes.... however he proved to be suitably devastating when passing his opponents (with the exception of heat 1). Heat 10 Cookie pass of Rusty Heat 13 Cookie with a belter of a pass on a flying Wolbert (Kevin giving Cookie room to race down the back straight). But the race of the night heat 15 was a beauty with Cookie coming from nigh on last place to get by Wolbert then his team mate Sedgy and then Pijper with some wonderful cornering. For the home men most were of the solid scoring variety with stand outs Cookie, Sedgy and for my money Aaron with a solid looking paid 7 and his first paid win, great to see. For the away team, Wolbert started like a train and looked unbeatable until meeting Cookie again. Pijper more like what he is capable of around the Dale, only beaten (3 times) by Cookie all night. Decent meeting that got better as the meeting went on watched by a healthy looking crowd. If Glasgow ride like that on Sunday I'd be surprised to see the Monarchs making it 8 out of 8 wins.

Blue skies and golden sunshine from what I can see...

Blue skies and golden sunshine.... in West Lothian That is all.

Well with the weather set fair for tomorrow here's hoping a big crowd turns up for this fixture. The Monarchs are in fine form and the Tigers have yet to find their feet this season .... but this is speedway and stranger things have happened..

To be honest I'm not sure... I think confusion reigns... there is a school of thought that says the riders that rode early season LC matches in March should have had re-calculated rolling averages.. based on however many matches they're calculated on these days (24/38/...) Speedway you've got to love it...

Like yer man said I think they were brought in this year. I think I read it in the Star somewhere....

I think League Cup meetings count this year for averages...

Incredible performance from Edinburgh last night. Very difficult to single one rider out for praise but for me Sam Masters put in a tremendous performance. Some of his first turns were devastating and his team riding was a joy to watch.

Very enjoyable meeting today. Some really good racing and some magnificent passing and first turn cutbacks. Any truth in the rumour that Glasgow are changing their name to the Glasgow Whales? Because they're often humped. :-)

Firstly hats off to both teams for a good night's entertainment especially given that they weren't paid points money. Secondly, really good to see so many Glasgow fans through making it a big crowd, probably amongst the biggest for sometime. Both teams will take positives and negatives from this fixture. Only one rider will take away 5 positives all of which are being unbeaten by an opposition rider, even when headed by a fast travelling Rusty in heat 6. The Aussie's 20/30 yard lead counted for little as Cookie seemingly effortlessly caught and passed the Tiger. As an aside it was good to see all riders getting their full allocation of rides (how it should be in my humble opinion). As for the cold, what cold it was a balmy 5 degress centigrade positively Bermudic at this time of year. Roll on Sunday.

It's been really pleasing over the past week or so to see how well the Monarchs Aussie Trio performed throughout the Oz Series. With Sedgy starting the season at reserve for the Monarchs this could well be a bit of a bonus for the Blue & Gold for the first few weeks of the season. Sam and Max are looking like they could well be pretty solid scorers come the start of the season as well. I am really looking forward to seeing how these young Aussies progress throughout the season.

Yes I would have thought it sensible to have two potentially strong reserves (assuming Thomsen is the other) so that if the young French chap doesn't get off to a flying start then he could slip to reserve and there would a least be half a chance that Thomsen or Ringwood could slot into the team with some confidence under their belt. As you say it also seems sensible that Glasgow employ as many of their assets as possible. After a bit of a stuttering start last year it would be good to see Glasgow improving their asset base.