Glasgow 43 Edinburgh 47- Air Fence Challenge/Spring Trophy 2nd leg- Agg: 81-99
The 2014 home season got off to a losing start as the Allied Vehicle Tigers lost their opening match to arch rivals Edinburgh.
Glasgow were going into their third match in a row but as had been the case in the other two, it was the opposition who were quicker out of the starts in the early heats.
Craig Cook won the opening heat although Kevin Wölbert kept him honest, while Dimitri Bergé passed Aaron Fox early on.
It was the fast starting Steve Worrell who won the reserves race with both Tigers spending the entire race on his exhaust pipe.
Tigers finally got a race winner with Rusty Harrison getting the better of Max Fricke in the opening bends, with Mark Lemon a comfortable third over Derek Sneddon who had started off 15m after a time penalty.
Tigers two point lead didn’t last long with both Worrell and Sam Masters gating. Theo Pijper briefly passed Masters only for the Aussie to return the favour on the next bend.
Cook was out again in heat 5 but he had to work hard to stay ahead of the quick looking Harrison, Lemon was an easy third.
Another swift gate from the visitors took Justin Sedgmen and Masters ahead of Wölbert and that’s the way it stayed, moving the Monarchs into a 6 point lead.
Finally the home side made a start in heat 7 and Pijper and Lykke Nielsen took a comfortable 5-1 over Fricke
Heat 8 was a classic. Worrell was away again at the front and after the two Tigers had sorted themselves out in second and third, Thomsen started closing Worrell down. His outside runs were thwarted but he changed line coming off the final bend and passed him on the inside on the run in to the line. Bergé took third from Fox.
Lemon made his best start of the day but drifted on the opening bends allowing Masters up his inside which was enough to take him to the front just stopping Harrison around the outside. Rusty came close a couple of times but Masters held on
If Tigers were to win the meeting, heat 10 was one they had to win, unfortunately a messy opening bend by Wölbert allowed both Monarchs to nip inside him with Fricke passing Bergé coming out of the second bend. Two races in one developed but there were no further passing. Monarchs now looked favourites with a two point lead and Cook to come in 3 of the last 5
Cook duly won his third race with Pijper and Lyyke Nielsen well ahead of Fox
If heat 8 was good, 12 was better!!! Not for the first time the Edinburgh duo of Fricke and Sedgmen gated with Harrison right behind them. The Monarchs opted to team ride but with Fricke looking for his partner on the inside of the third bend of the second lap, he didn’t see Harrison on his other side and Rusty passed both Monarchs coming out of the fourth bend. The race wasn’t over though!! Sedgmen was being reeled in by Thomsen, who got the better of him coming off the last bend for a home 4-2.
With the scores level again, Tigers knew they had to get ahead before heat 15 but with both Monarchs unbeaten going into heat 13, this looked unlikely. However, Wölbert briefly showed ahead of Cook, before being passed but crucially Pijper was ahead of Masters which is how it ended.
Heat 14 looked like being the decider and unfortunately for the home side Worrell was out again and both he and Sneddon made the start. Lemon passed Sneddon on the opening lap but never got near Worrell. At the back Sneddon managed to fend off Lykke Nielsen for a two point lead.
Heat 15 was always going to be an anti-climax and so it proved with Cook easily getting his maximum while Harrison got ahead of Masters in the second lap for a 43-47 score line.
Tigers would’ve been hoping for a better start after 2013 but with heat winners being at a premium (worryingly a problem they had last year) they were up against it, although they did only have 5 last places. In saying that, it was a four man Monarchs side that won the meeting although both Sneddon and Sedgmen had important scoring heats. Worrell was their surprising match winner, while the home side would be happy with impressive performances from Bergé, Lykke Nielsen and probably the most exciting rider in Rusty Harrison.
Both sides would’ve taken something from the match (along with a few worries) but Glasgow need to sort out the gating with a difficult match to come next week against Workington.
Scorers
Glasgow 43: K Wölbert 5,D Bergé 4+1, R Harrison 12, M Lemon 5+2, Pijper 7+1, Lyyke Nielsen 5+2, Thomsen 5 +1
Edinburgh 47: C Cook 15, A Fox 0, M Fricke 8, D Sneddon 2, S Masters 8+2, J Sedgmen 3, S Worrell 11
Report by Derek Watson