BIGGEST WIN OF THE SEASON

REPORT Friday 12th July 2013, 11:52pm

by Mike Hunter

  Edinburgh Monarchs

The Scotwaste Monarchs scored their biggest win of the season tonight when they defeated Glasgow 62-30, and moved into second place in the Premier League. We are three points behind Workington with three matches in hand.

Whilst Craig Cook always catches the eye, for once he was slightly upstaged tonight as Jozsef Tabaka gave his sharpest display of the season in scoring 15 points. Craig acknowledged this by slowing in the closing yards of heat 15 to give Jozsef his full maximum.

Craig himself actually fell off in heat 1, though he rode unbeaten in his remaining races. He admitted "I'm always trying things I shouldn't in that first race. Maybe I'll learn one day."

Max Fricke, Theo Pijper and Claus Vissing would also plead guilty to having one unproductive race, though overall the team was in excellent form.

Fricke really caught the eye with some excellent moves off the second bend, and he totalled paid 12 in his final home match at reserve for the time being.

Amazing to think that maximum man Tabaka moves down to reserve after tomorrow!

It was definitely a bad night for the Tigers, whose three highest average riders (Screen, Grieves and Compton) totalled a disappointing 11 between them. They had to look to their two Danes Henning Bager and Jonas Raun for some consolation, Bager hitting double figures and Raun taking their only race win in heat 8.

The best moment of a one-sided match came in heat 14 when young guns Fricke and Tabaka chased the early leader Andre Compton. They were impatient to get to the front but it took just over a lap before they both went through simultaneously.

Monarchs now head for Rye House for another important away match. The Rockets themselves just missed an away win at Scunthorpe tonight.

Full Result Details