Monarchs lose captain in weekend to forget
The Edinburgh Monarchs suffered two defeats in as many days, as well as the loss of skipper Erik Riss.
The German ace crashed out after just one ride in Sunday’s 53- 37 away defeat against the Newcastle Diamonds as the Armadale-based side slumped to another defeat.
They had been beaten by the same scoreline the previous day away at the Berwick Bandits.
In truth, the 16- point loss against the Diamonds was not the worst performance, given the loss of their captain and having sat 20 points behind after just eight heats.
Boss John Campbell refused to be too downbeat, saying: “It was a battling performance against the odds after losing Erik.
“Ricky Wells was simply magnificent, Josh Pickering gave an exciting performance and by the end Joel Andersson was going quite well too.”
The defeat came two days after Edinburgh scraped a 46-44 home victory over the same opponents thanks to a 4-2 win in the final heat.
Riss and Wells teamed up in heat 15 to seal the deal after the Diamonds had levelled things up with an unexpected 5-1 in the penultimate heat.
The duo were in their usual stunning form as they combined for 24+ 2 points on the night, while Pickering and Andersson also chipped in with seven points each.
Despite the win, team manager Alex Harkess said: “That was far too close for comfort and we didn’t get the improvements in the team we were looking for after last week’s defeat.”
Having survived a Friday night scare at home, the next day they suffered a Saturday shocker as they went down with a whimper against the Bandits in a Championship Shield encounter.
Staff at Sheilfield Park must be applauded for their efforts in ensuring the contest went ahead but the visitors will no doubt be wishing it had been postponed.
They never got going and struggled to cope with the Bandits’ top riders.
Edinburgh tallied just 12 points outside of their top two riders in a disappointing defeat.
Mark Riss, who scored five points, said: “It was a tough night. It’s a tough place to come. If you don’t make the start it is very hard to pass.
“I actually made a good start in my last race but my bike wasn’t fast enough and the Bandits passed me. It is what it is, though.
“Tonight was about learning with the cup match to come but I am disappointed with myself. I have been to Berwick three times now and I need to learn quicker.”