Edinburgh vs Glasgow 23/03/2007

Edinburgh Monarchs 3723 March 2007
Spring Trophy
Armadale
Glasgow Tigers 36
meeting abandoned after heat 12 due to curfew restrictions
Edinburgh 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 T B
1. Ronnie Correy 1' 3 2 6 1
2. Henrik Moller 2 2' 3 1' 8 2
3. Will Lawson 2 3 3 2 10
4. Daniele Tessari 0 0 2' 2 1
5. Matt Wethers 2 3 1 6
6 Derek Sneddon 3 0 1 0 4
7. Andrew Tully 1 ef fx 1
Glasgow
1. George Stancl 3 2 3 8
2. Lee Smethills ef 1' 0 1 1
3. Shane Parker 1 2 3 4 3 13
4. Trent Leverington 3 1' 0 4 1
5. Robert Ksiezak 3 1 ex 4
6 Lee Dicken 2 1 ef fx 3
7. David McAllan fx m 2 1 3
Heat 01 Stancl Moller Correy Smethills-Ef (56.6)
Heat 02 Sneddon Dicken Tully McAllan-Fx (58.5)
Heat 03 Leverington Lawson Parker Tessari (58.5)
Heat 04 Ksiezak Wethers Dicken Tully-Ef McAllan-M (58.6)
Heat 05 Lawson Stancl Smethills Tessari (57.4)
Heat 06 Correy Moller Ksiezak Dicken-Ef (58.0)
Heat 07 Wethers Parker Leverington Sneddon (58.6)
Heat 08 Moller McAllan Sneddon Smethills (57.7)
Heat 09 Lawson Tessari Dicken-Fx Ksiezak-X (58.7)
Heat 10 Parker Correy Moller Leverington (58.1)
Heat 11 Stancl Parker! Wethers Sneddon (59.0)
Heat 12 Parker Lawson McAllan Tully-Fx (58.2)
report from The Scotsman
MATTHEW Wethers is an injury doubt for Sunday's Spring Trophy speedway decider between Edinburgh Scotwaste Monarchs and Glasgow at Ashfield after crashing last night.
The Monarchs ace injured his ankle when he ran into Glasgow Tigers star Robert Ksiezak during a protracted - and often flat - first-leg clash at Armadale.
Monarchs were just ahead 37-36 when the match had to be abandoned with only 12 races completed to comply with the 9.45pm curfew.
Heat 13 did start but was abruptly halted when Ksiezak fell heavily on the third bend. Wethers, who was chasing hard, couldn't avoid his stricken rival and somersaulted on to the track.
Wethers was taken to Livingston's St John's Hospital for precautionary X-rays, as was Ksiezak, who suffered concussion and won't be able to ride for at least a week.
Wethers' father Brian said: "I hope the ankle isn't broken but we won't know for definite until the swelling goes down."
One of Monarchs' biggest-ever crowds turned out to witness the debut of Californian Ronnie Correy but the pint-sized American didn't match the fireworks display which preceded the first race of 2007 at the Lothian Arena.
Correy scored six points from his three outings, which included a fortunate win over Lee Dicken, who led him for a lap in heat six-before his bike packed up on the last lap, gifting the Monarchs a 5-1 success.
After pointing out that his teammates need to sharpen their gating skills, Correy himself looked sluggish from the tapes and admitted afterwards that he was disappointed with his first performance in Monarchs colours.
He said: "It wasn't very good, I didn't gate very well but I'm just trying to get settled in.
"I know what the problem is and I'll get it sorted and, hopefully, I'll make some better starts next week."
Although the track was damp, Correy, insisted: "That wasn't to blame for my poor score. I had trouble with my riding boots and my ankles but, if I can get these worries out of my head, then I'll be able to concentrate on my racing."
Correy added that he didn't want to predict how tomorrow afternoon's deciding leg will go.
"It's very early days yet but I've been to Glasgow before and hope to do well.
"I've been in the sport for a long time but, having dropped down to the Premier League, there are a number of tracks I haven't seen before and it will take time to get dialled. I know Glasgow won the Spring Trophy last season - we would like it back!"
Monarchs were perhaps a shade unlucky not to build up a bigger advantage.
After a 5-0 in heat nine which put them 31-22 in front, they were brought back to earth when Tigers brought in top-scorer Shane Parker as a tactical substitute two races later.
Parker - riding off a 15 metre handicap - easily reeled in Monarchs duo Wethers and Derek Sneddon to finish behind victorious teammate George Stancl to gain Tigers a massive 7-1 advantage which slashed Monarchs lead to just three points.
And the visitors struck again in the final heat before the abandonment when Parker - out for his third race in a row - headed Monarchs' William Lawson to take the chequered flag
With David McAllan claiming third, Tigers snatched a 4-2 and will feel, just one point adrift, supremely confident of retaining the silverware.
Lawson headed the Monarchs scorechart with ten points - a brace of wins sandwiched between two second places.
But many eyes were on Dane Henrik Moller, who partnered Correy in the opening race and picked up a second place behind Stancl.
Moller's eventual eight-point tally satisfied him.
He said: "I felt I did all right and it was quite a good start. I thought the bike was running smoothly. I had some problems at the start of the match but sorted them out. The track was a bit greasy - but not difficult to ride."
Moller added: "I thought Ronnie and I did okay together in the first race. We have had a chat about it and I think we'll be pretty good team-mates."
Monarchs new reserve Andrew Tully picked up one point while Daniele Tesari, tipped for big things, looked off the pace and took two points from three races.
Monarchs: Lawson 10, Moller 8, Correy 6, Wethers 6, Sneddon 4, Tesari 2, Tully 1.
Glasgow: Parker 13, Stancl 8, Leverington 4, Ksiezak 4, Dicken 3, McAllan 3, Smethills 1.