Edinburgh vs Redcar 30/03/2007

Edinburgh Monarchs 4430 March 2007
Premier Trophy
Ashfield
Redcar Bears 46
Glasgow 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 T B
1. Ronnie Correy 3 3 2 2 1 11
2. Henrik Møller 1 1 3 1' 6 1
3. William Lawson 2 ef 1' 2 0 5 1
4. Daniele Tessari 2 ef 1' 2 0 5 1
5. Matthew Wethers 3 0 2 1' 6 1
6 Derek Sneddon 3 1 f 2 6
7. Andrew Tully 2' 1 1 1' 5 2
Redcar
1. Gary Havelock (C) 2 3 3 3 2' 13 1
2. Dan Giffard 0 1 2 1 4
3. James Grieves 3 3 3 3 3 15 M
4. Chris Kerr 1 2' 0 3 6 1
5. Matt Tresarrieu 2 2 3 0 7
6 Jamie Courtney 0 ef 0 0 0
7. Rusty Hodgson 1 0 0 0 1
Heat 01 Correy, Havelock, Møller, Giffard
Heat 02 Sneddon, Tully, Hodgson, Courtney
Heat 03 Grieves, Lawson, Kerr, Tessari
Heat 04 Wethers, Tresarrieu, Tully, Hodgson
Heat 05 Havelock, Tessari, Giffard, Lawson EF
Heat 06 Correy, Tresarrieu, Møller, Courtney EF
Heat 07 Grieves, Kerr, Sneddon, Wethers,
Heat 08 Møller, Giffard, Tully, Hodgson
Heat 09 Tresarrieu, Tessari, Lawson, Courtney
Heat 10 Grieves, Correy, Møller, Kerr
Heat 11 Havelock, Wethers, Giffard, Sneddon F
Heat 12 Grieves, Lawson, Tully, Courtney
Heat 13 Havelock, Correy, Wethers, Tresarrieu
Heat 14 Kerr, Sneddon, Tessari, Hodgson
Heat 15 Grieves, Havelock, Correy, Lawson
report from The Scotsman
EVEN at this early stage of the season fears have been expressed in some quarters that Edinburgh Scotwaste Monarchs lack the scoring artillery to shoot down some of their rivals.
And that proved to be the case against Redcar Bears at Armadale last night.
With ten race winners - twice as many as the Monarchs - Redcar put the squeeze on the capital outfit with a last heat 5-1 to sneak a deserved 46-44 Premier Trophy victory.
And that result left the home side with some searching questions to answer.
Some of the Monarchs riders are doing passable impersonations of Rip Van Winkle and have yet to awake from their off-season slumbers.
Unless the squad solve their chronic gating problems and raise their game, the belief that, collectively, they can increase their averages this year is a misplaced one.
In truth Monarchs were beaten by a five-man Redcar team. Their two reserves, Jamie Courtney and Rusty Hodgson scored just one point between them.
Skipper Ronnie Correy, right, romped to victories in his first two races, which helped Monarchs build up a 21-15 lead after six heats.
It seemed at that point as though Redcar had been given a lot to do to win the meeting.
But things began to unravel for Monarchs in the very next race when James Grieves and Chris Kerr romped to a 5-1 over Matthew Wethers, who blew one of his motors, and Derek Sneddon.
This slashed the Bears deficit to just two points and provided them with a fresh impetus to push for glory.
Monarchs were let down again by second heat leader William Lawson, who never really looked comfortable.
His five-point tally from as many outings, isn't doing him justice, nor is his mechanical preparation.
A fall by Derek Sneddon in heat 11 handed four points to the Bears.
But they remained two points in arrears, 43-41, going into the last heat.
Bears skipper Gary Havelock and the unbeaten Grieves squared up to Correy and Lawson but, typically, it was the Bears who were sharper from the tapes and they produced a textbook display of team riding to claim victory and leave their hosts deflated.
The paucity of Monarchs scoring tells its own story but Correy tried to put a brave face on what was a big home setback. He said: "Some of the boys had bike problems but Redcar like our track. Guys like Havelock and Grieves have ridden Armadale before and go well.
"I was happy with my first two rides but fell back after that."
Correy added he was sick at losing the final race 5-1, which handed victory to the Teesiders.
"I thought I'd made the jump from the gate but spun. I knew then I was in trouble.
"Trying to split Gary and James was hard work. I just couldn't get the grip on the track to manage it."
Grieves was in imperious form for Redcar, easing to a brilliant 15 point maxium and Havelock paid tribute to the efforts of his teammate afterwards.
He said: "I was really happy for James. He has spent a lot of money on his equipment this season and was riding with a new motor."
Confessing that snatching maximum points from the heat 15 showdown had been a big ask, Havelock added: "We had worked out tactics before the race and they worked out perfectly.
"But speedway is 80 per cent gating. Even if you are not the fastest rider in the team, if you gate you can still win a race if you race defensively. It was a great result for us.
"We had ridden a couple of challenge matches before last night and hadn't fared very well. Some of the lads have had teething troubles.
"But everyone is keen. We have a good mix of youth and experience and they are all capable of raising their average, which is the key to winning the league."
Monarchs ace Matthew Wethers picked up six points on his return from injury.
His tally included a thrilling third-place finish when he pipped Frenchman Matt Tresarrieu on the line in heat 13.
Monarchs: Correy 11, Moller 6, Wethers 6, Sneddon 6,Lawson 5, Tessari 5, Tully 5.
Redcar: Grieves 15, Havelock 13, Tresarrieu 7, Kerr 6, Giffard 4, Hodgson 1, Courtney 0.