HIGH-FLYING Workington Comets fully expected to turn Edinburgh Monarchs over in their Premier Trophy clash at rain sodden Armadale last night.
But the Cumbrian outfit found themselves on the wrong end of a 56-37 thumping as Monarchs solid scoring display easily outweighed the efforts of what was basically a three-man Comets squad.
After just five races Workington were 19-11 down and this
prompted a request from the Comets management and star rider Carl Stonehewer in particular, who clearly didn't fancy the greasy conditions one little bit, for the Lothian Arena circuit to be regraded in order to remove the top layer of dirt.
After a 20 minute delay – clearly designed to throw the Monarchs off their stride – the meeting resumed.
And Monarchs boss John Campbell later accused Comets team manager Ian Thomas of wasting time. Campbell said: "I was furious about it. I told Ian Thomas it was dreadful they held up the meeting in such a manner and had the crowd waiting.
"They were here to be entertained. The grading didn't make any difference to Workington's Daniel Nermark, who scored a maximum, or anyone else. It just wasted time.
"We proved we are the best team in the north. And it was nice to win easily, and nice to be exciting with it. I'm delighted with the result."
Monarchs reserves Andrew Tully and Aaron Summers outscored their Comets counterparts 16-2 underlining the fact that the visitors have a pretty long tail to their side.
Tully who scored ten points from his four starts collected the Man of the Match award but insisted that, despite the hefty scoreline, it wasn't any cakewalk for the capital outfit
He said: "I don't think it was an easy win. We were battling hard against both the opposition and the track conditions."
The Bathgate racer thought the decision to regrade the track was a correct call, saying: "Once they removed the top layer of dirt it made the surface more consistent and it was a bit easier to get round. Everyone agreed afterwards the track was a lot easier to ride. Before they did the work everyone was ultra cautious."
Tully's victory over Stonehewer in heat 7 gave him huge satisfaction. He said: "For myself it was something of an achievement. Stoney is a top rider and a top gater. To beat him and stay ahead of him was brilliant. Hopefully I can take more scalps in the future.
"Everything just worked out for the team on the night and a few things possibly didn't go Workington's way. We fought hard and fully deserved our triump."
Former Monarch Nermark was imperious for the Comets and scored an 18-point maximum, which included a tactical six-point win in heat 11 over Tully and Matthew Wethers.
Nermark was a shade fortunate to take the chequered flag in the first heat after the race was stopped when Monarchs No.1 Ryan Fisher fell.
Nermark revealed: "My engine blew so I was a bit lucky when the race was awarded.
"Conditions were wet and that always makes racing tricky but I made a few good gates, which is why I scored a few points.
"We came looking to win but, to a degree, we are still trying to find our feet a little."
Apart from Nermark, only Stonehewer and skipper Kauko Nieminen, made any impact for Workington.
Monarchs' solidity, which included some smart passing from Summers and top scorer William Lawson who pipped Stonehewer on the line in a heat 12 thriller, looks like standing them in good stead when the league programme begins next month.
Last time Monarchs had seven riders who could all step up to the plate was back in 2003 – the year they won the championship.
Monarchs picked up ten points from the rider replacement facility used to cover for the injured Thomas Jonasson's and it must be said it's doubtful whether the Swede would have matched that.
Monarchs: Lawson 14, Tully 10, Wethers, 10, Sneddon 9, Fisher 7, Summers 6.
Workington: Nermark 18, Nieminen 7, Stonehewer 7, Wright 2, Haines 2, Smith 1, Branney 0.
The full article contains 698 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
