GLASGOW team boss Cami Brown is happy with the “positives” after a narrow defeat at Edinburgh.
The Allied Vehicles Tigers went down 48-42 in their opening BSN Series fixture at Armadale on Friday night.
It went down to a last heat decider with the visitors trailing by just two points. But the Monarchs top two Craig Cook and Josh Pickering outgunned Chris Harris and Tom Brennan to ensure a six-point home win.
Brown said: “We are disappointed to lose in the end. That was probably down to being a bit rusty to be honest.
“We forced it to a last heat but Cook and Pickering are a strong pairing.
“The main thing was to keep it tight. The aggregate bonus point will be crucial in this BSN Series. I’m confident we can overturn that on Sunday at Ashfield if we apply ourselves in the right way.
“We never want to lose to Edinburgh. But there were lots of positives. Marcin Nowak won a race in style while Chris was his usual outstanding racer.
“All the other boys chipped in. Tom is really unhappy and feels like he let the side down. But that’s not true. He was excellent in the early stages.
“What was very clear all meeting was the excellent team spirit. All the boys mucked in and helped each other. We knew that would be the case and it’s great to see.”
Harris produced the move of the meeting to pass Pickering in Heat 13 but there were also fine wins for Brennan, Nowak and Basso.
Tigers now face the Monarchs in the return clash at Ashfield at 5pm on Sunday.
Brown added: “It’s always going to be a tough encounter with the Monarchs. They have a strong side so it should be a great meeting with a big crowd.”
Tigers 42: Chris Harris 14, Ben Basso 9, Claus Vissing 6+4, Tom Brennan 6, Lee Complin 3+1, Marcin Nowak 3, Ace Pijper 1+1.
Monarchs 48: Craig Cook 14, Kye Thomson 8, Paco Castagna 7+2, Josh Pickering 7+2, Jacob Hook 6, Lasse Fredriksen 5+1, Kyle Bickley 1+1.
Images by Taylor Lanning.