Edinburgh vs Sheffield 28/04/2017

Edinburgh Monarchs 47 Sheffield Tigers 43 28 April 2017 Premier League KO Cup Quarter Final 1st Leg Armadale

Edinburgh 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 T B 1 Sam Masters (C) 3 3 3 0 2 11 2 Josh Pickering 0 0 3 2' 5 1 3 Erik Riss 2 1 2 3 8 4 Max Clegg 0 0 2' 2 1 5 Ricky Wells 2 2 3 2 1' 10 1 6 Mark Riss 0 1' 2' 1' 2' 3 9 4 7 Mitchell Davey 2 0 0 2 Sheffield 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 T B 1 Richard Lawson (G) 2 3 2 1 3 11 2 Josh Bates 1' 3 2' 1 1' 8 3 3 Todd Kurtz 1 0 1 1 1 4 4 Lasse Bjerre R/R 5 Kyle Howarth (C) 3 2 3 3 3 0 14 6 Rob Branford 3 1' 0 0 0 4 1 7 Jack Parkinson Blackburn 1 1 0 0 2 Heat by Heat Heat 01 Masters, Lawson, Bates, Pickering (55.6) 3-3 (3-3) Heat 02 Branford, Davey, Parkinson-Blackburn, Riss (58) 2-4 (5-7) Heat 03  Bates, Riss, Kurtz, Clegg (57.4) 2-4 (7-11) Heat 04 Howarth, Wells, Parkinson-Blackburn, Davey (56.8) 2-4 (9-15) Heat 05 Lawson, Bates, Riss, Clegg (56.8) 1-5 (10-20) Heat 06 Masters, Howarth, Branford, Pickering (56.4) 3-3 (13-23) Heat 07 Howarth, Wells, Riss, Kurtz (55.9) 3-3 (16-26) Heat 08 Pickering, Riss, Bates, Parkinson-Blackburn (56.6) 5-1 (21-27) Heat 09 Howarth, E Riss, M Riss, Branford (56.3) 3-3 (24-30) Heat 10 Masters, Pickering, Kurtz, Branford (57.6) 5-1 (29-31) Heat 11 Wells, Lawson, Bates, Davey (57.4) 3-3 (32-34) Heat 12 E Riss, M Riss, Kurtz, Branford (57.2) 5-1 (37-35) Heat 13 Howarth, Wells, Lawson, Masters (57.3) 2-4 (39-39) Heat 14 Riss, Clegg, Kurtz, Parkinson-Blackburn (58.2) 5-1 (44-40) Heat 15 Lawson, Masters, Wells, Howarth (57.7) 3-3 (47-43) report from the Edinburgh Evening News Edinburgh Monarchs have it all to do in the second leg of their KO Cup quarter-final clash after they toiled to curb Sheffield Tigers in tonight’s first-leg encounter at Armadale. Monarchs ran out eventual winners but whether it will be enough to earn them a semi-final meeting with Ipswich Witches is hugely debatable. The Tigers proved superior in a lot of departments and had the man of the match in former Monarch Kyle Howarth who picked 14 points. Monarchs captain Sam Masters said: “We got the job done eventually but would have liked a bigger lead to take down to Sheffield.” Erik Riss commented: “I struggled to find the right set-up and I toiled all evening.” Even Ricky Wells was downbeat, saying: “I would have loved to have scored a maximum but I couldn’t get out of the start.” Sheffield became the third visiting side this season to arrive with a makeshift line-up. No.1 Josh Grajczonek and Lasse Bjerre were both absent and it simply devalues a match when a team arrives shorthanded. It’s starting to turn into a running joke, but not everyone is laughing. The public are being short changed, but at the Lothian Arena at least it hasn’t affected attendances which are already up on 2016. Sheffield gave Monarchs a wake-up call in the early heats. Former Monarchs racer Rob Branford won heat two getting the better of Mark Riss and, in the following race, only a third bend intervention from Erik Riss prevented a Sheffield 5-1. They still grabbed a 4-2 courtesy of Josh Bates and Todd Kurtz and led Monarchs 11-7 after only three heats. And the Tigers bared their claws in the next heat with another 4-2 from Kyle Howarth and Jack Parkinson-Blackburn to extend their lead to 15-9. With no tactical substitutes allowed in the cup alarm bells were starting to ring in the Monarchs camp after providing just one race winner in the opening heat. It was turning into a nightmare for the home side as Richard Lawson and Josh Bates easily won a 5-1 against Erik Riss and Max Clegg in heat five to go ten points up, 20-10. Monarchs skipper Masters won his second race of the night in heat six, but the problem for the Aussie was that he was receiving no support. Sheffield, for their part, were far sharper from the gate and looked to have no weak links. This was underlined by Kyle Howarth who beat Wells comfortably in the next race for a 3-3 share of the spoils to maintain Sheffield’s ten-point lead. At this point Sheffield were handing Monarchs something of a speedway lesson. Monarchs then awoke from their slumbers with Josh Pickering and Mark Riss grabbing a 5-1 over Bates and Parkinson-Blackburn to reduce their leeway to six points. Howarth, a former Monarch, looked unstoppable as he won the ninth race in crushing style for the Tigers – and Howarth hasn’t ridden like this for a long time. A pulsating second place by Pickering to follow Masters home for a great 5-1 in heat ten reduced Monarchs’ arrears to just two points. 31-29. But they could only share heat 11 with Wells taking the chequered flag for the first time in the match. Then, almost incredibly, Monarchs took the lead for the first time in heat 12 thanks to a 5-1 from the Riss brothers over Todd Kurtz and Rob Branford. This put Monarchs ahead 37-35 but heats were running out for the Capital side to build a sizeable lead to take down to Sheffield for the second leg which will possibly be staged in June. Sheffield then levelled the match when Howarth and Richard Lawson grabbed a 4-2 in heat 13. Back it swung in Monarchs’ favour when Mark Riss and Max Clegg took maximum points in the penultimate heat to give Monarchs a four-point lead with one race to go. Monarchs: Masters 11, Wells 10, M Riss 9, E Riss 8, Pickering 5, Clegg 2, Davey 2. Sheffield: Howarth 14, Lawson 11, Bates 8, Kurtz 4, Branford 4, Parkinson-Blackburn 2.

Scunthorpe vs Edinburgh 23/04/2017

Scunthorpe Scorpions 37 Edinburgh Monarchs 53 23 April 2017 Premier League Eddie Wright Raceway

Scunthorpe 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 T B 1 Ryan Douglas 3 1' 2 FX 1 7 1 2 Carl Wilkinson 1 2 3 0 6 3 Lewis Kerr 4 Michael Palm Toft 3 3 2 0 8 5 Dimitri Berge (G) 3 2 1 2 7 1 6 Richard Hall (G) 2 2' 0 1' 0 1 0 6 2 7 Josh Bailey 1' 1 0 0 1 3 1 Edinburgh 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 T B 1 Sam Masters 2 2 3 1 8 2 Josh Pickering 0 1' 3 2' 6 2 3 Erik Riss 1 3 3 3 2' 12 1 4 Max Clegg 0 1 1 2' 4 1 5 Ricky Wells 2 3 1 3 3 12 6 Mark Riss 3 0 3 2' 3 11 1 7 Mitchell Davey F 0 0 0 3 3 Heat by Heat Heat 01 Douglas, Masters, Wilkinson, Pickering 4-2 57.38 Heat 02 M.Riss, Hall, Bailey, Davey (F) 3-3 (7-5) 58.94 Heat 03 Palm Toft, Hall R/R, E.Riss, Clegg 5-1 (12-6) 58.25 Heat 04 Berge, Wells, Bailey, Davey 4-2 (16-8) 57.88 Heat 05 Palm Toft, Masters, Pickering, Bailey R/R 3-3 (19-11) 57.07 Heat 06 Wells, Wilkinson, Douglas, Davey 3-3 (22-14) 58.56 Heat 07 E.Riss, Berge, Clegg, Hall 2-4 (24-18) 58.25 Heat 08 Pickering, Wilkinson, Hall, M.Riss 3-3 (27-21) 59.38 Heat 09 M.Riss, Palm Toft, Wells, Bailey R/R 2-4 (29-25) 58.57 Heat 10 E.Riss, Douglas, Clegg, Wilkinson 2-4 (31-29) 58.12 Heat 11 Masters, Pickering, Berge, Hall 1-5 (32-34) 58.81 Heat 12 E.Riss, M.Riss, Bailey, Wilkinson R/R 1-5 (33-39) 58.75 Heat 13 Wells, Berge, Masters 2-4 (35-43) 59.19 (Douglas FX Heat 14 M.Riss, Clegg, Hall, Palm Toft - EF 1-5 (36-48) 60.13 Heat 15 Wells, E.Riss, Douglas, Hall 1-5 (37-53) 60.88(Toft - T-EX report from the Edinburgh Evening News Edinburgh Monarchs staged a tremendous fightback at the Eddie Wright Raceway yesterday against Scunthorpe Scorpions to make it five league wins in a row. The Capital septet ran out comfortable winners to remain top of the Championship but that didn’t seem likely early in the match. Scorpions were without three of their own riders through injury but Monarchs seemed unable to capitalise on their hosts’ misfortune and were eight points adrift after just five heats. Promoter John Campbell said: “The result we got at the end was the result I had expected before the meeting. But when we slipped eight points down I couldn’t see where we were going to get a race winner from. But Josh Pickering’s win in heat eight I think was the turning point in the match for us. “Then we became very dominant and once everyone got going they were capable of scoring points. I couldn’t be happier we have kept our unbeaten run going and to get all four points here was very pleasing indeed.” Monarchs are nothing if not stubborn and were not going down without a fight and Erik Riss and Max Clegg began a comeback of sorts with a 4-2 in heat seven to reduce the gap to six points. It was Monarchs’ first heat win of the match. Monarchs switched reserves in heat eight putting Mark Riss, who won his opening ride, out to replace Mitchell Davey who fell off in heat two. But unfortunately Riss lost control on the final bend as he was pushing for second place and was passed by Scunthorpe guest rider Richard Hall. Mark Riss was out again in the very next race and won it in style and with partner Ricky Wells claiming a third-place point. This 4-2 inched Monarchs closer to the Scorpions and they trailed by only 29-25. Monarchs at last started to get into gear and Erik Riss’s second win of the match in heat ten, with Clegg finishing third, gave them a second 4-2 advantage in row and cut the deficit to just two points, 31-29. It was anyone’s match now. Incredibly Monarchs took the lead 34-32 when skipper Sam Masters and Pickering picked up a crucial 5-1 in heat 11 piling the pressure on the home side. It was Masters’ first win of the meeting after two second places in his opening two rides. And Pickering, who was riding the track competitively for the first time, came good after a last place in the first heat. Monarchs were now in full flight and brothers Erik and Mark Riss sensationally claimed a second 5-1 in heat 12 to lead 39-33. Wells and Masters took a 4-2 in heat 13 to increase their lead to eight points, completely overturning Scunthorpe’s early match advantage. There was no stopping Monarchs’ second-half juggernaut now as Mark Riss and Clegg raced hard for another 5-1 in heat 14 after Scunthorpe’s Michael Palm-Toft saw his engine die on him. And Monarchs finished with a flourish with a 5-1 from Wells and Erik Riss which allowed Monarchs to capture all four points at stake. This was a real team effort in every sense of the word and if Monarchs carry on like this a few of the favourites for the title will begin to fear them. Scunthorpe: Palm-Toft 8, Berge 7, Douglas 7, Wilkinson 6, Hall 6, Bailey 3. Monarchs: Wells 12, E Riss 12, M Riss 11, Masters 8, Pickering 6, Clegg 4, Davey 4.

Edinburgh vs Berwick 14/04/2017

Edinburgh Monarchs 57 Berwick Bandits 33 14 April 2017 Premier League Armadale

Edinburgh 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 T B 1 Sam Masters 3 3 3 2' 11 1 2 Josh Pickering 0 FX 3 1 4 3 Erik Riss 3 3 3 3 3 15 4 Max Clegg R 1 0 1' 2 1 5 Ricky Wells 3 2' 3 3 2' 13 2 6 Mark Riss 3 3 1 R 2 9 7 Mitchell Davey 2 1 0 3 1 Berwick 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 T B 1 Lewis Bridger 2 2 2 1 0 7 2 Dimitri Berge 1' 0 2 FX 3 1 3 Kevin Doolan (C) 2 1 2 2 7 4 Liam Carr FX 0 FX 0 5 Claus Vissing 2 2 4 0 1 9 6 Dany Gappmaier 1 1' 1' 1' 3 7 3 7 Joe Lawlor (G) 0 R R 0 0 Heat by Heat Heat 01 Masters, Bridger, Berge, Pickering (54.8) 3-3 (3-3) Heat 02 Riss, Davey, Gappmaier, Lawlor (56.6) 5-1 (8-4) Heat 03 Riss, Doolan - 2 Finishers only (56.6) 3-2 (11-6) Heat 04 Wells, Vissing, Davey, Lawlor (Ret) (57.2) 4-2 (15-8) Heat 05 Riss, Bridger, Clegg, Berge (57.3) 4-2 (19-10) Heat 06 Masters, Vissing, Gappmaier, Pickering (F/x) (58.1) 3-3 (22-13) Heat 07 Riss, Wells, Doolan, Carr (57.7) 5-1 (27-14) Heat 08 Pickering, Berge, M Riss, Lawlor (Ret) (58) 4-2 (31-16) Heat 09 Riss, VISSING, Gappmaier, Clegg (57.9) 3-5 (34-21) Heat 10 Masters, Doolan, Pickering, Carr (F/x) (59) 4-2 (38-23) Heat 11 Wells, Bridger - 2 Finishers only (57.8) 3-2 (41-25) Heat 12 Riss, Doolan, Gappmaier, Davey (58.9) 3-3 (44-28) Heat 13 Wells, Masters, Bridger, Vissing (57.4) 5-1 (49-29) Heat 14 Gappmaier, Riss, Clegg, Lawlor (59.6) 3-3 (52-32) Heat 15 Riss, Wells, Vissing, Bridger (59.2) 5-1 (57-33) report from the Edinburgh Evening News Edinburgh Monarchs maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a thumping 57-33 Championship victory over Berwick Bandits at Armadale. The Bandits had reshuffled their pairings in a bid to outflank Monarchs. It had no impact whatsoever – it was a bit like rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic. Berwick are a team sinking fast. They have won just one competitive match so far, and unless there is a turnaround in their fortunes soon, their new owners might have to look at changing the side to pacify their supporters, who were vocal in their condemnation of the loss to Monarchs at home last weekend. Monarchs can only defeat what is dished up to them and it wasn’t their fault that the meeting was so one-sided and a lot of the racing proved quite processional. Captain Sam Masters said: “It was quite a convincing win. We are still unbeaten and we’re going quite well right now. The team spirit is very good this year and I’m happy with it. Everybody talks to each other during the week and no one seems to be holding anything back.” Monarchs reserve star Mark Riss came into the match bursting with confidence after guesting for Sheffield Tigers against title favourites Ipswich Witches on Thursday night. Riss scored an amazing 14 points and was topscorer as Sheffield ran out easy winners. It is hoped Riss can emulate this score when Monarchs visit Sheffield on KO Cup first round duty in a couple of weeks time. Riss made mincemeat of Berwick reserves Dany Gappmaier and Joe Lawlor to win heat two by a country mile and with partner Mitchell Davey following him home, this gave Monarchs their first 5-1 maximum advantage of the evening. Berwick then surprised Monarchs when Kevin Doolan and Liam Carr sped away in front in the very next race. But Carr came off on the second bend and was disqualified and in the rerun Erik Riss, who was slow from the tapes at the first time of asking, made no mistake this time, fending off a fierce challenge from Doolan. Max Clegg then spun off and retired. Erik Riss grabbed his second win of the meeting in heat five and with Clegg atoning for his fall in the third race by claiming a third place point, this 4-2 increased Monarchs lead to 19-10. Josh Pickering, who finished last in his first outing, tumbled off in heat six and was disqualified, but partner Masters won the rerun convincingly to rescue a share of the points. Ricky Wells and Mark Riss then secured Monarchs second 5-1 of the night in heat seven to widen the gap to 13 points at 27-14. Doolan was third, but was riding like a teenager and was always lively. Pickering finally got his first win under his belt by triumphing over Dimitri Berge in heat eight. Then the Bandits secured their first heat win of the meeting thanks to a tactical outing by Claus Vissing in heat nine. The resultant 5-3 closed the gap to 13 points again. The second half was a carbon copy of the first as Monarchs stretched their lead to 15 points thanks to a 4-2 from Masters and Pickering in heat ten. Monarchs moved inexorably towards the winning post with a 5-1 from Wells and Masters in heat 13 over Bandits top rider Lewis Bridger and Vissing to lead 49-29. And Monarchs finished in style with their fourth 5-1 of the meeting courtesy of Erik Riss and Wells in heat 15. Erik Riss completed a 15-point maximum – his first for the club this season – and he said: “I worked hard for this and I feel good, apart from my starts, I’m not happy with them yet.” Monarchs: E Riss 15, Wells 13, Masters 11, M Riss 9, Pickering 4, Davey 3, Clegg 2. Berwick: Doolan 8, Vissing 8, Bridger 7, Gappmaier 7, Berge 3, Carr 0, Lawlor 0.

Edinburgh vs Redcar 21/04/2017

Edinburgh Monarchs 52 Redcar Bears 40 21 April 2017 Premier League Armadale

Edinburgh 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 T B 1 Sam Masters 3 3 3 F 1' 10 1 2 Josh Pickering 1 2' 2 0 5 1 3 Erik Riss 2 1 1 1 5 4 Max Clegg 0 0 3 2' 5 1 5 Ricky Wells 3 3 1' 2 2 11 1 6 Mark Riss 3 1 2 3 3 12 7 Mitchell Davey 2' 1 1' 4 2 Redcar 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 T B 1 Richie Worrall 2 2' 3 3 3 13 1 2 Coty Garcia 0 1 3 3 0 0 7 3 Charles Wright R/R 4 Jonas B Andersen 3 2 4 2 1 12 5 Ben Barker 2 FX 1 3 6 Richard Hall 0 1 0 0 0 1 7 Ellis Perks 1 0 0 4 1 Heat by Heat Heat 01 Masters, Worrall, Pickering, Garcia (56.1) 4-2 (4-2) Heat 02 Riss, Davey, Perks, Hall (56.3) 5-1 (9-3) Heat 03 Andersen, Riss, Garcia, Clegg (Fell) (57.8) 2-4 (11-7) Heat 04 Wells, Barker, Davey, Perks (57) 4-2 (15-9) Heat 05 Garcia, Worrall, Riss, Clegg (56.6) 1-5 (16-14) Heat 06 Masters, Pickering, Hall, Barker (Excl.) (56.2) 5-1 (21-15) Heat 07 Wells, Andersen, Riss, Perks (56.9) 4-2 (25-17) Heat 08 Garcia, Pickering, Davey, Hall (57.5) 3-3 (28-20) Heat 09 Clegg, Perks, Riss, Hall (57.9) 4-2 (32-22) Heat 10 Masters, Andersen, Perks, Pickering (57.1) 3-5 (35-27) Heat 11 Worrall, Riss, Wells, Garcia (57.6) 3-3 (38-30) Heat 12 M Riss, Andersen, E Riss, Hall (57.6) 4-2 (42-32) Heat 13 Worrall, Wells, Barker, Masters (Fell) (57.5) 2-4 (44-36) Heat 14 Riss, Clegg, Andersen, Perks (57.4) 5-1 (49-37) Heat 15 Worrall, Wells, Masters, Garcia (57.7) 3-3 (52-40) report from the Edinburgh Evening News Edinburgh Monarchs propelled themselves back to the top of the Championship table with a hard fought win over Redcar Bears tonight. The visitors arrived with high hopes following their big 54-35 victory over highly fancied Ipswich Witches at home on Thursday and once again it seems the Witches flattered to deceive. This was Monarchs’ fourth win on the bounce as they displaced Glasgow Tigers from the summit. All eyes were on Monarchs’ second string star Max Clegg who was axed by his Premiership club Wolverhampon Wolves on Thursday and replaced by his Monarchs team-mate Mark Riss. Clegg’s body language in the pits last week against Berwick Bandits suggested he would rather be anywhere than Armadale, but the club are determined to get him going again. But now he is just riding in the Championship, travelling all the way up from his Yorkshire home each week to score two or three points, as he has been doing since the season started, must be financially prohibitive. Clegg, who has been struggling to find his scoring touch of last season, had a golden chance to prove Wolves were wrong in releasing him, but unfortunately fell off on the first bend in his opening ride in heat three. He remounted but finished last. Monarchs got off to a flying start with a 4-2 from Sam Masters and Josh Pickering. And a 5-1 from Mark Riss and Mitchell Davey in the second heat put Monarchs 9-3 in front, only for the Bears to hit back with a 4-2 from Jonas B Anderson and Coty Garcia in the third heat to reduce their arrears to just four points. Monarchs then secured their second 4-2 from Ricky Wells and Davey in heat four to restore their lead of six points. However, a surprise 5-1 from Garcia and Richie Worrall against Erik Riss in heat five helped the Bears reduce their deficit to 16-14. Clegg was plum last and looked all over the place, he clearly has much work to do and time is not on his side. Masters won his second race of the night in heat six and with Pickering following him home this 5-1 once again restored the home side’s six-point advantage. Wells continues to win his races by a mile and his triumph in heat seven, his second of the match, pushed Monarchs eight points in front thanks to Mark Riss holding out Ellis Perks for third place. At last Clegg had something to smile about when he won heat nine quite comfortably against Perks. He punched the air as he crossed the line and the resultant 4-2 for Monarchs widened the gap to ten points, 32-22. Redcar were not giving up the contest and a 5-3 win in heat ten courtesy of a tactical ride by Anderson kept the pressure on Monarchs who were having a few wobbles. A 4-2 from Mark Riss and younger brother Erik in heat 12 saw the winning post loom in to view as Monarchs led once more by ten points, 42-32. In another twist Redcar grabbed a 4-2 of their own when Worrall led from the tapes in heat 13 and when Masters fell on the final bend Ben Barker was the grateful recipient of a third-place point and this cut Monarchs’ lead to eight points again. A brilliant 5-1 from Mark Riss and Clegg in the penultimate heat clinched the match points for Monarchs but they were made to fight all the way by the Bears who turned in one of their best performances at Armadale in recent times albeit with two of their regular team missing. Clegg said he felt “pretty chuffed” with his eventual five points: “I’m a lot happier and it was a better performance from me.” Masters said: I’m happy that we are top of the league but I’m not happy with a lot of things that went wrong for me.” Worrall scored 13 points for the Bears and was their top scorer and managed to beat Monarchs’ American star Wells three times. Monarchs: M Riss 13, Wells 11, Masters 10, Pickering 5, E Riss 5, Clegg 5, Davey 3. Redcar: Worrall 13, Anderson 12, Garcia 7, Perks 4, Barker 3, Hall 1.

Berwick vs Edinburgh 08/04/2017

Berwick Bandits 42 Edinburgh Monarchs 48 8 April 2017 Premier League Shielfield Park

Berwick 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 T B 1 Lewis Bridger 2 2 3 1 3 11 2 Liam Carr F 1' 1' 0 2 2 3 Dimitri Berge 3 EF 2 0 5 4 Claus Vissing 2' 2 1' 3 F 8 2 5 Kevin Doolan (C) 2 3 2 0 7 6 Dany Gappmaier 3 2 0 1 2' 8 1 7 Luke Ruddick (G) F F 1 1 Edinburgh 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 T B 1 Sam Masters 3 3 1 2' 1' 10 2 2 Josh Pickering MX 1 3 3 7 3 Erik Riss 1 2 2 3 8 4 Max Clegg R 0 1 1 5 Ricky Wells 3 3 3 3 2 14 6 Mark Riss 1 2 0 0 1' 2' EF 6 2 7 Mitchell Davey 1' 1 0 2 1 Heat by Heat Heat 01 Masters, Bridger, Riss, Carr (Fell) (65) 2-4 (2-4) Heat 02 Gappmaier, Riss, Davey, Ruddick (Fell) (66.1) 3-3 (5-7) Heat 03  Berge, Vissing, Riss, Clegg (Ret) (65.8) 5-1 (10-8) Heat 04  Wells, Doolan, Davey, Ruddick (Fell) (65.5) 2-4 (12-12) Heat 05 Masters, Vissing, Pickering, Berge (E/F) (64.9) 2-4 (14-16) Heat 06 Wells, Bridger, Carr, Riss (0) 3-3 (17-19) Heat 07 Doolan , Riss, Ruddick, Clegg (66.4) 4-2 (21-21) Heat 08 Pickering, Gappmaier, Carr, Riss (66.8) 3-3 (24-24) Heat 09 Wells, Berge, Vissing, Davey (66) 3-3 (27-27) Heat 10 Bridger, E Riss, M Riss, Carr (66.5) 3-3 (30-30) Heat 11 Pickering, Doolan , Masters, Gappmaier (66.4) 2-4 (32-34) Heat 12 E Riss, M Riss, Gappmaier, Berge (67.3) 1-5 (33-39) Heat 13 Wells, Masters, Bridger, Doolan (66.1) 1-5 (34-44) Heat 14  Vissing, Gappmaier, Clegg, Riss (E/F) (67.5) 5-1 (39-45) Heat 15 Bridger, Wells, Masters, Vissing (Fell) (AWD) 3-3 (42-48) report from the Edinburgh Evening News Two wins out of two for Edinburgh Monarchs who struck late in their Championship match with Berwick Bandits at Shielfield Park to claim three match points. The stunning 48-42 triumph piles the pressure on Berwick’s new owners who were still smarting from their hammering at Sheffield Tigers on Thursday. Monarchs team manager Alex Harkess was purring like a cat with the cream over the result and said: “It was a bit disappointing not to take all four points, but it was our first away victory of the season and we have made the perfect start to our campaign.” There was barely a cigarette paper between the sides early on and the scores were tied 24-24 after eight heats. But Monarchs made the decisive move in heat 12 when Mark and Erik Riss grabbed a big 5-1 advantage to put them 39-33 in front. And when Monarchs’ top duo Skipper Sam Masters and Ricky Wells repeated the trick in the very next race this pushed Monarchs ten points ahead and the winning post was in sight. The Bandits won a consolation 5-1 of their own in heat 14 but Monarchs easily shared the last race 3-3 to put the result beyond doubt. Said Harkess: “We had looked at the programme beforehand and saw a batch of races late on that we knew were capable of wining.” And young second string rider Josh Pickering was right in the thick of things and pulled off two race wins – one against Berwick captain Kevin Doolan – on a track he had not seen before. Pickering, as he showed in victory against Scunthorpe at Armadale on Friday, is as fearless as they come. Said Harkess: “Every day he looks the part. For someone who has never seen Berwick before and to win two races, it’s just tremendous, we have no worries about him.” The same cannot be said of Max Clegg, who scored one point, and reserve Mitchell Davy who picked up two. Harkess said: “With Mitchell he is a reserve and we are not asking him to win loads of races but they are both struggling and we have to work hard to get them both going. “In Max’s case it is very frustrating to see him struggling. I’m being diplomatic, that’s all I’ll say. “It’s not as if he hasn’t had any matches before riding for us, he’s had quite a few outings for Wolverhampton in the Premiership. “But this season with no League Cup we are straight into the league programme with no time to get things right. If we had all seven of our team riding like they would be scoring 80 points every week.” Wells was Monarchs’ top scorer with 14 points from his five rides and dropped his only point to Berwick No.1 Lewis Bridger in the final race. Masters weighed in with ten points. Harkess added: “They rode very well again and they look after themselves and it gives you such an advantage to have two big scorers at the helm of the side. And lets’s not forget Erik, he has settled into the third heat leader role without much trouble at all.” The race of the night came in heat 10 when both Riss brothers made lightning starts from the tapes until Bridger picked them off for a handsome victory. Berwick: Bridger 11, Gappmaier 8, Vissing 8, Doolan 7, Berge 5, Carr 2, Ruddick 1. Monarchs: Wells 14, Masters 10, E Riss 8, Pickering 7, M Riss 6, Davey 2, Clegg 1

Edinburgh vs Scunthorpe 07/04/2017

Edinburgh Monarchs 54 Scunthorpe Scorpions 36 7 April 2017 Premier League Armadale

Edinburgh 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 T B 1 Sam Masters 3 3 3 3 1 13 2 Josh Pickering 1 2' 3 0 6 1 3 Erik Riss 3 3 FX 1 7 4 Max Clegg 0 0 2 0 2 5 Ricky Wells 3 2' 3 2' 3 13 2 6 Mark Riss 3 3 0 3 2 11 7 Mitchell Davey 2' 0 0 2 1 Scunthorpe 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 T B 1 Ryan Douglas 2 Carl Wilkinson 2 1' 2 2 1 0 8 1 3 Lewis Kerr 1' 2 1 2 2 2 10 1 4 Micheal Palm Toft 0 2 0 1' 3 6 1 5 Josh Auty 2 1 3 1' FX 7 1 6 Fritz Wallner FX 0 7 Josh Bailey 1 1' 0 1' 1 0 1 5 2 Heat by Heat Heat 01 Masters, Wilkinson, Pickering, Palm-Toft (56.7) 4-2 (4-2) Heat 02 M.Riss, Davey, Bailey, Wallner (F/x) (AWD) 5-1 (9-3) Heat 03 Riss, Palm-Toft, Kerr, Clegg (57.3) 3-3 (12-6) Heat 04 Wells, Auty, Bailey, Davey (57.5) 3-3 (15-9) Heat 05 Riss, Kerr, Wilkinson, Clegg (56.9) 3-3 (18-12) Heat 06 Masters, Pickering, Auty, Bailey (57.1) 5-1 (23-13) Heat 07 M.Riss, Wells, Kerr, Palm-Toft (57.6) 5-1 (28-14) Heat 08 Pickering, Wilkinson, Bailey, Davey (57.1) 3-3 (31-17) Heat 09 Auty, Clegg, Bailey, Riss (F/x) (57.1) 2-4 (33-21) Heat 10 Masters, Kerr, Palm-Toft, Pickering (57.6) 3-3 (36-24) Heat 11 Wells, Wilkinson, Auty, M.Riss (58) 3-3 (39-27) Heat 12 M.Riss, Kerr, E.Riss, Bailey (57.8) 4-2 (43-29) Heat 13 Masters, Wells, Wilkinson, Auty (F/x) (AWD) 5-1 (48-30) Heat 14 Palm-Toft, Riss, Bailey, Clegg (59.8) 2-4 (50-34) Heat 15 Wells, Kerr, Masters, Wilkinson (57.9) 4-2 (54-36) report from the Edinburgh Evening News Edinburgh Monarchs got their Championship campaign off to a winning start with a commanding 54-36 victory over Scunthorpe Scorpions at Armadale Stadium last night. In all honesty it was far too easy. Monarchs were in truth two riders down with reserve Mitchell Davey and second-string ace Max Clegg finding the level of competition a bit too hot for them. Skipper Sam Masters said: “It was awesome to start off with a win, we all felt a bit funny out on the track but I’m sure we’ll get that sorted out.” Erik Riss was going like an express train then got derailed when he was excluded in the ninth race and he wasn’t happy. The German youngster said: “I got taken out to the fence and the referee decided I was to blame and disqualified me, such things happen.” Davey after getting a paid win in his opening ride, lamented: “I struggled a bit after that I just couldn’t going all, it was tough.” But the team must lift themselves for tonight’s trip to Berwick Bandits if Monarchs are to stand any chance of picking up an away win. It was unfortunate that Scunthorpe were not at full strength for this opening Championship fixture. Their Aussie No.1 Ryan Douglas withdrew from the meeting in the afternoon suffering from food poisoning. Scunthorpe used rider replacement for him which certainly did not make them any weaker because in past seasons Douglas has not been at his best around the Lothian Arena. Monarchs got off to the perfect start with a 4-2 from Australian duo Masters and Josh Pickering in the opening race against Michael Palm-Toft and Carl Wilkinson. And, a 5-1 from Mark Riss and Davey in heat two afer the race was awarded when Scorpions Austrian Fritz Wallner fell on the third bend, Monarchs were starting to dominate opening up a six-point lead already. And a 3-3 in heat four which was won convincingly by Monarchs ace Ricky Wells maintained that advantage. Scunthorpe were frankly not offering much resistance and the hosts increased their lead with a 5-1 from Masters and Pickering in heat six, which prompted Scunthorpe to give a tactical outing to Lewis Kerr in heat seven. It proved an academic change as Kerr was shunted back to third place as Mark Riss and Wells grabbed the race by the scruff of the neck to notch up another 5-1 which put Monarchs 28-14 in front in what was turning into a very one-sided contest indeed. The Riss brothers were on fire with younger sibling Erik winning his first two rides in tremendous style. And Pickering wasn’t doing too badly either winning heat eight with partner Davey sadly a long way back, Monarchs were almost over the horizon leading 31-17 at the halfway stage. When Erik Riss was disqualified in the next race Scunthorpe took advantage by scooping their first heat win of the night when Josh Auty and Josh Bailey grabbed a 4-2 against Clegg which reduced the Scorpions arrears to 12 points, 33-21. But, two further shared heats by Monarchs kept the pressure up and they lead 39-27 with just four heats left. And Monarchs sailed over the winning line with a 4-2 from Masters and Wells in the final heat. Monarchs: Wells 13, Masters 13, M Riss 11, E Riss 7, Pickering 6, Davey 2, Clegg 2. Scunthorpe: Kerr 10, Wilkinson 8, Auty 7, Palm-Toft 6, Bailey 5, Wallner 0.