EDINBURGH Scotwaste Monarchs' 21-point maximum hero Andrew Tully believes the time has come for the capital speedway outfit to smash their Premier League jinx against Sheffield Tigers at Owlerton tonight.
Over the last few years a trip to the Yorkshire venue has been likened to a visit to the dentist for Monarchs, who are desperate to prove they can ride the vast and fast Sheffield track.
Often Monarchs have been beaten before turning a wheel in an
ger, and Tully thinks it's probably been a collective mental block in the past which has prevented Monarchs from taming the Tigers round their own den.
He said: "It's a psychological thing. Some riders get it into their head that they cannot ride a certain place and are often defeated before they start."
Monarchs travel to Sheffield at a timely moment. The home side, by their own high standards, are currently languishing fifth from the bottom of the table and have already been dismissed from both the Knockout Cup and Premier Trophy competitions.
With championship-chasing Monarchs in such rampant form, there is a genuine feeling they will come away with something against the Tigers.
Tully added: "Our attitude is that it's just another match. What we have done down there previously doesn't matter. Whether it's home or away we go into every meeting thinking we have a chance of winning." Grounds for thinking Monarchs could emerge victorious are based upon their performances at King's Lynn and Rye House recently.
A draw at King's Lynn – their best result at the Norfolk venue in four decades – and a narrow loss at Rye House debunked the myth that Monarchs couldn't compete at both tracks, which are regarded as great home advantage circuits. "We proved to everyone that those places hold no fears for us," said Tully. "I don't think we should think about what shape or size the track is. We should just set out to go out and win."
Tully revealed his engines are being tuned by former Sheffield skipper Sean Wilson, so the Bathgate racer could be a match winner for Monarchs from the reserve position. Tully's form has been blistering of late, culminating in his seven-ride full house against the Isle of Wight on Friday.
It was a cut-glass display which has been lauded as one of the finest performances ever seen by a Monarch at Armadale. Yet, at the start of the season, the 21-year-old was bemoaning his early scores.
He continued: "I was possibly trying too hard and wasn't relaxing enough. In the heat two reserves race, I would go out and fling the bike around, I was that determined. But I wasn't riding calmly and that had an effect because I was making mistakes. After that I decided to hang with it and I forgot about my errors and I've now sorted myself out."
With Thomas Jonasson and William Lawson returning to the ranks, Monarchs have a full seven man squad available for the first time in a few weeks.
The full article contains 511 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
