Glasgow will have to attack from behind and produce one of their greatest comebacks if they’re to claim the League Cup after a heavy defeat at Edinburgh tonight.
The Tigers went down 55-34 to their fierce Scottish rivals in the final’s first leg after managing just two heat wins.
The tone was set straight away when the Monarchs duo of Craig Cook and Justin Sedgmen sailed untroubled to a 5-1 in the first heat – and they kept building on their lead throughout the meeting.
Glasgow only managed to dent the deficit twice – when Aaron Summers and Kauko Nieminen gated for a 5-1 over Sam Masters in the seventh race, and when the Finn Nieminen was gifted a 3-2 in heat 14 when Erik Riss crashed when leading, then the Tigers’ Hynek Stichauer hit the deck and was also disqualified.
The Tigers were second-best in virtually all departments – with No 1 Richard Lawson scoring just two, and failing to beat an opponent in his four races, while the home reserve duo picked up seven points compared to the visitors’ five (paid eight).
All of this means a 21-point deficit to make up in the second leg on Sunday, which is at 3pm at the Peugeot Ashfield Stadium.
Reaction to tonight’s result will follow soon.