EDINBURGH Scotwaste Monarchs appear to have one hand and four fingers on the Premier speedway Trophy after steamrollering Birmingham Brummies 65-24 in the first leg of the Final at Armadale last night.
Rain yet again did its best to ruin the meeting as a spectacle and without question the heavy track surface was not to Birmingham's liking. Yet Monarchs, who seem to be confronted by adverse weather on a weekly basis, revelled in the mud and suffocat
ed their Midland rivals with six maximum advantages over the first eight heats.
And it was Californian Ryan Fisher, a man more accustomed to sunshine, who stole the show as he raced to an 18-point maximum. His first ever for Monarchs.
Fisher was perhaps a shade lucky to complete his six-ride full house as he trailed Brummies Polish ace Thomas Piszcz in the heat 15 top scorers showdown.
But Piszcz blew his motor on the back straight, which allowed Fisher to storm home to victory and celebratory bumps from his teammates.
"Luck was definitely on my side for a change in the last race", said Fisher. "Thomas broke down and I got my maximum. My first ever and I'm very happy."
Fisher added that Monarchs are in a very strong position to capture their first silverware of the season when the second leg takes place at Perry Barr next month.
He said: "It's good that we will be going there with such a big first-leg lead. But we can't let our guard down. We will be out to win the return match as well."
Birmingham's heads seemed to go down very early in proceedings, which is emblematic of their season so far – a campaign punctuated by injuries and bad luck.
Their top scorer was 23-year-old Canadian Kyle Legault, who broke his leg earlier in the year.
Legault, who was brought down by his partner Jason Lyons in heat three, picked up nine points from his five outings.
He admits Birmingham face a massive task in the return clash.
"In spite of all the rain, track conditions were very good," said Legault.
"I always enjoy coming to Armadale, I'm comfortable riding the place. I got off to a pretty rough start when Jason knocked me off in my first ride and came close to doing it again in my second. It wasn't the beginning to a meeting I was hoping for! But I did pull things around towards the end.
"I actually thought the wet conditions would play into our hands and make it difficult for both sides. It could have levelled things out. But Edinburgh know the way round their own circuit.
"It's going to be difficult to pull back such a deficit, especially as everyone can ride Birmingham – it's a fair track."
With Birmingham unable to keep Monarchs at bay, the home side powered to victory almost at will and probably couldn't believe their good fortune that Brummies skipper Jason Lyons unusually toiled and ended up with just two points for his efforts.
While Fisher won the individual plaudits, the impressive return to form of Aaron Summers is revelatory.
Summers scored a paid maximum from his four rides and passed fellow countryman Lyons with embarrassing ease to follow teammate Matthew Wethers home for a 5-1 in heat 12.
Wethers, who is also back in the groove and amassed 12 points, drops to reserve next month. And his tail-end partnership with Summers could prove to be a points goldmine for Monarchs in their quest for the league title.
Summers said: "I was very happy to pick up a paid maximum. I wasn't sure how I would go because there was a lot of water on the track when we arrived.
"We dominated the first few races and I don't think Birmingham knew what to do after that, and possibly their heads went down a little.
"But it doesn't mean they will be a pushover round their own track. However it does make things a lot easier to have such a big lead for the return match."
Andrew Tully was the other Monarch to post a double-figure total, grabbing ten points.
Guest Mark Lemon, who turns out for Monarchs again at Glasgow Tigers tomorrow, scored eight from five starts.
Monarchs:Fisher 18, Wethers 12, Tully 10, Sneddon 9, Summers 8, Lemon 8.
Brummies: Legault 9, Piszcz 5, Roberts 4, Lyons 2, Watson 2, Cockle 2, Herne 0.
The full article contains 749 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
