Academy Look To Halt Oxford's Charge

PREVIEW Sunday 21st April 2024, 10:04am

by Graham Muncie

  Edinburgh Monarchs Academy

Stellar Monarchs Academy will be hoping it will be third time's the charm as they look for their first win of the season at Oxford on Sunday afternoon.

Scott Wilson's men showed spirit to come back from eight down on Friday night but sadly it was all for naught as the Chargers took the spoils by a singular point so the Academy will literally be looking to go one better today.

With a ten-match season every encounter is crucial and if any hopes of a title are to be retained then points are needed.

This will be no easy task as a trip to the reigning champions looms, but the hope must be that the top end of the Academy team come to the party and give a basis for a win.

Only 2 heat wins between Connor Coles, Max Perry and Sam McGurk on Friday night was where the match was lost and while this was a frustration it also gives hope that when the wins start to come and you can only imagine they will for as talented a trio at that at this level that if the back-up remains as has been scoring them this can turn defeats into victories.

However it will need to be done today without the services of McGurk who has a badly swollen wrist after a crash while riding for Workington on Saturday. Rider replacement in operation with all bar Coles eligible to take a ride.

Mason Watson and particularly Dayle Wood can be happy with their contribution in defeat on Friday night Watson only an engine failure away from scoring in all his heats while Wood put in the most controlled performance of his British career gating well and riding intelligently on his way to 13 points so more of the same from this pair would go a long way.

At reserve Kyran Lyden enjoyed his first two heat wins at this level on Friday while Mark Parker's night started with an unfortunate fall that was no fault of his own and he could not get going after that.

Points will not come easy at Cowley though as mentioned already reigning champs Oxford will look to build on that victory.

Luke Killeen is the big name at the top end of the Chargers side, and he will be among the top average riders in the league this season you would imagine.

There is solid back-up throughout the rest of the team and Jody Scott in particular looks one to watch.

Jacob Clouting and Jason Garrad provide the engine room scoring while Ashton Vale is another on the upward trajectory at reserve. The team being rounded out by Senna Summers who similar to Mark Parker is gaining experience everywhere he goes.

Sadly, Alex Spooner still misses out recovering from his shattered collarbone Wayne Hutt stepping in for this one.

So, a big test waits for the Academy as they look to kickstart their season the action starts at 3pm. The match will be live streamed on https://livestream.oxfordspeedway.club/ with live updates also available on the Monarchs website throughout.

Oxford Chargers : Luke Killeen,. Wayne Hutt, Jacob Clouting, Jason Garrad, Jody Scott, Senna Summers, Ashton Vale

Srellar Monarchs Academy : Connor Coles, Mason Watson, R/R for Sam McGurk, Dayle Wood, Max Perry, Mark Parker, Kyran Lyden

Full Result Details