Bears A Threat In Cup Semi First Leg

PREVIEW Friday 19th August 2022, 12:12pm

by Graham Muncie

  Edinburgh Monarchs

With the regular season league campaign now complete and a place in the end of season playoffs secured the What the Fork Monarchs turn their attention back to the KO cup tonight as the Redcar Bears head to Armadale in the first leg of the semi-final.

The Bears are still chasing a play off place of their own also so the chance for both sides of a glorious double remains on the table.

The visitors have already had a taste of silverware this year having been victorious just last Friday in the Championship pairs but the highs of that were met by the lows of a resounding defeat at Poole midweek that means they still have work to do in the league also.

It is a strong looking side that head for Armadale though with a heat leader trio of Charles Wright, Lewi Kerr and guest Richard Lawson who steps in for former Monarch Erik Riss that is amongst the strongest in the league.

Second string Kasper Andersen has had excellent matches at Armadale in the past while Jason Edwards is another well-known to the Armadale faithful and rounds out the top 5.

Recent addition Kyle Newman will look to bolster the reserve berths and with partner Jordan Jenkins having already recorded a maximum at Armadale in the National league this year it is hard to spot a weak link in the Bears line-up.

Their previous visit to Armadale this year saw them just fail to gain a point going down by 7 albeit with a line-up that night that sees only 3 of the riders that return on Friday in Andersen, Kerr and Edwards so that match probably can't be used as a forebearer for this encounter although despite claims of confidence of a victory from the Bears camp a 7 point defeat may be classed as acceptable in the terms of the tie overall.

For the home men there is a welcome and massive boost with the return to the side of Sam Masters, it has not just been the captains scoring but presence in the pits that has been missed in the last couple of weeks also albeit an excellent victory at Oxford was gained during the week despite his absence.

Elsewhere it is as you were for the Monarchs with things maybe just starting to click into gear, the victory on Wednesday being achieved with a brilliant performance from Josh Pickering being backed up by points and key contributions throughout.

That could well be the deciding factor over the two legs as with any cup tie no tactical substitutions are allowed so all 7 riders input is required should a team be successful.

So, another big Friday night as the Monarchs look to build a lead and put the pressure onto the Bears for the return leg in 2 weeks' time while for the visitors, they come looking for a victory that would make them red hot favourites to progress.

Tapes up is at 7.30pm with tickets still available on the Monarchs website, pay at the gate facilities or for those that can't attend EM:TV has you covered with the live stream.

Friday night is speedway night…. see you there!

Full Result Details