Edinburgh Monarchs v Glasgow Tigers

The Scottish season opener was tight for much of the evening, and Tigers should really have taken the lead, but in the end Monarchs asserted themselves for a solid 14-point victory.

Heat 5 was the one which should have seen the visitors go ahead, but experienced Mark Lemon slipped sideways out of the fourth corner and came down. The scores stayed level for another heat but Monarchs then took over, and only some misfortune for the home side prevented a bigger win.

Craig Cook and Justin Sedgmen won the first two heats, both shared, after which we had three Glasgow race winners through Theo Pijper, Rusty Harrison and Ricky Wells.

Heat 6 was another Cook classic, after he had made a hash of the first lap that was. At one point Rusty Harrison led him by many yards, but you can never count Cook out and he pulled back the deficit to take the three points with a burst down the final straight.

After the scares of heats 5 and 6, the Aussies put things right when Masters and Sedgmen romped away from Theo Pijper for the first 5-1 of the night in heat 7.

In normal circumstances we might have taken Aaron Fox out of heat 8 after two pointless rides, but it had been decided beforehand to let all riders take their programmed rides. Aaron had a better ride, though still at the back, as Stevie Worrall took his first win of the evening.

Derek Sneddon made his first start in heat 9 and for much of the race it looked as though Max Fricke would slot in behind him. It wasn’t an easy ride for Max though with Lykke Nielsen pushing from third, eventually pushing his way through for second.

Monarchs should have extended their six points advantage in heat 10, because Fox had his best ride and even seemed to be closing in on Pijper for second place. Unfortunately his exhaust came adrift and gifted third to Bergé.

The bad luck continued into heat 11 in which Mark Lemon led, pressed by Sedgmen with Masters and Wells battling for third. However Justin’s chain came off, he drifted into Sam’s path and we lost a 5-1, though at least the riders avoided a collision.

So that took the scores to 34-32, and we needed to start building a lead again.

This proved to be well within our abilities. Worrall did brilliantly to go ahead in heat 12 and ride Theo Pijper wide, helping Max through for a 5-1.

This was repeated in heat 13 with Sam leading and Craig filling the gaps, preventing any real challenge from Wells or Harrison.

So the win was in the bag, and Derek celebrated with a heat 14 win, though he didn’t have a lot to spare over Anders Thomsen. Tigers’ reserves were proving to be their brightest performers. Justin Sedgmen had clutch problems in this one but still took third comfortably.

Craig Cook completed his paid maximum in the final heat after passing Wells early on, and Sam took the point from Theo Pijper who had faded after a bright start to the evening.

Edinburgh Monarchs v Glasgow Tigers

It's time to look out the old jacket, scarf, hat and programme board – the new speedway season is here! And two very changed sides will line up at the tapes on Friday to get the 2014 speedway season off the ground at Armadale in the first leg of a challenge match to raise funds for the newly installed air fence.

For Monarchs there will be no Claus Vissing (signed by Berwick), Liam Carr (signed by Berwick), Theo Pijper (signed by Glasgow) and Joszef Tabaka (seriously injured in the last home match of 2013). In come two new faces from Australia and one from the USA.

For Glasgow there will be no Joe Screen (managing Sheffield); Henning Bager (unattached); James Grieves (retired); Thomas Jorgensen (Scunthorpe); Ashley Morris (Workington) and Joe Jacobs (Peterborough). This makes space for six new riders from five different countries!

Competition among the No.1 Premier League riders will be fiercer than ever this year with the likes of Edward Kennett and Ales Dryml dropping down, so Monarchs fans will be glad that Craig Cook has decided to carry on riding in the Premier League as well as leading Elite League Belle Vue Aces in his spare time.

The last time Edinburgh put most of their eggs in the basket of a rider with an average above 10, it didn't work out as planned. However, Daniel Nermark was overcoming the mental scars of desperately serious injuries, whereas in this case, Craig has shown us already that he is riding at the top of his game.

Craig will line up opposite Ricky Wells who will lead the Tigers for one night only as a guest replacement for former Monarchs No.1, Kevin Wolbert who is riding for Germany in the European Best Pairs Championship on the same night. But 'The Kaiser' will be back for the return leg at Ashfield on Sunday.

At No.2, Monarchs unveil one of the biggest surprise signings of the winter in Aaron Fox, a relatively experienced rider in California who may take some time to get used to regular league speedway in the UK. At No.2 for Glasgow is vastly experienced Australian and regular Armadale visitor, Mark Lemon.

Next up for Monarchs is their young Australian gem, Max Fricke, still only 17 and already looking to establish himself as a heat leader in only his second season. He will certainly know his opposite number, the vastly popular twice a Monarch, Theo Pijper who was snapped up by Glasgow and captains the Tigers.

Derek Sneddon returns as captain for Monarchs, starting out at No.4, with the job he'll do well of getting the new-look side to gel. Facing him will be another surprise signing, 18-year-old Dimitri Berge, already a very accomplished motorcyclist from Marmande in France who comes highly recommended by Theo.

Better late than never, and undoubtedly well worth the wait at No.5 for Monarchs is Australian Sam Masters who had to sit out the 2013 season for lack of a visa. His opposite number is another ex-Monarch and seasoned veteran of Armadale, the ever-entertaining Rusty Harrison, now entering his Benefit season.

Making his Monarchs debut at No.6 is an Australian rider with heaps of potential, Justin Sedgmen who has already ridden for both Premier and Elite League sides. Riding at 6 for Glasgow is 18-year-old Kasper Lykke Nielsen from Denmark who spent a season and a half with Rye House.

Returning at No.7 for Edinburgh is late-season signing Steve Worrall who showed some very encouraging signs that he is ready to kick on. His opposite number is the only rider retained by Glasgow, 20-year-old Anders Thomsen from Denmark who was signed by Tigers midway through 2013.

It all makes for a heady mix of riders, some with heaps of Armadale experience, some with lots of experience but not around Armadale, and some who are new to league speedway in Britain as well as to the Scotwaste Arena. But with this being an air fence fundraiser, hopefully they will all be safer.

It will be really strange seeing a Tigers side without James Grieves, but just as strange seeing Theo Pijper in the stripes. Monarchs will be looking for home advantage to give them a good lead to take to Ashfield, but this is a local derby and Glasgow will be out to spoil the party.

With both sides starting with a clean slate, this should prove to be the perfect way to kick off another exciting season of speedway. Be there! Tapes up at 7.30 sharp, and don't forget to check out the new 2014 merchandise at the track shop.

Likely line-ups:

EDINBURGH SCOTWASTE MONARCHS: Craig Cook, Aaron Fox, Max Fricke, Derek Sneddon (capt.), Sam Masters, Justin Sedgmen, Steve Worrall.

GLASGOW ALLIED VEHICLE TIGERS: Ricky Wells (guest), Mark Lemon, Theo Pijper (capt.), Dimitri Berge, Rusty Harrison, Kasper Lykke Nielsen, Anders Thomsen.