Monarchs tame the Tigers in cup shock
Superb fightback sends Glasgow side spinning out
The Edinburgh Staggs Bar Monarchs pulled off a stunning Knockout Cup upset of the Glasgow Tigers as they fought back from 11 points down to seal a 46- 43 away win on Sunday.
That performance followed on from a nervy 46-44 home win two days previously — a margin of victory that most deemed insufficient heading into the away leg.
Midway through the race it appeared set to be the case, too, as the Tigers raced out to a 26-15 lead as they held a nine point aggregate advantage and looked comfortably the better side on the day.
It would be all one- way traffic in Edinburgh’s favour after that, though, as Joel Andersson and Josh Pickering combining for a 5- 1 in heat eight proved the catalyst for a 31-17 Monarchs run the rest of the way to set up a quarter-final clash against Berwick Bandits.
Monarchs, who lost American rider Max Ruml after his first ride, split the opening heat as Ricky Wells got the better of Glasgow’s Chris Harris and Lewis Kerr.
Heat number two was a nightmare for the visitors as Coty Garcia retired before Pickering fell and was excluded as the Tigers were handed a 5-0.
The Ashfield Stadium outfit increased their lead of the next few heats, claiming a pair of 4-2 wins in heats three and four to take a 19-10 lead on the day and appear to have the upper-hand in the tie.
Another 4- 2 for Glasgow in heat seven appeared to all but hand the Tigers a spot in the last eight, but the battling Monarchs had other ideas.
Pickering and Andersson’s heroics in heat eight was swiftly followed by a 4-2 on the back of a first win of the afternoon for Erik Riss in the next heat.
A 5- 1 for the away side in heat 13 reduced the deficit to a single point on the day, and saw the Monarchs sneak back in front on aggregate with Riss and Wells teaming up perfectly.
Garcia and Pickering were able to split the penultimate heat with Glasgow’s Jack Thomas and Paul Starke, thanks to Garcia’s race win, which set up a nail- biting finale.
Entering the final heat, the Monarchs were in front by a single point across the two matches.
Up stepped the magnificent Riss and Wells combination once more as the visitors finished it off in style with a 5-1 as Wells completed a paid 15-point maximum to round off a remarkable effort and book their place in the next round.
They take on Berwick in the quarter-finals at the end of June.