Monarchs' knockout cup bid may be slip sliding away . .

In very tricky conditions at Armadale last night Edinburgh Monarchs struggled and only defeated Newcastle Diamonds 47-42 in the first leg of the final, leaving them with a tall order in tomorrow's deciding tie at Brough Park.

But Monarchs deserve credit for fighting back to win the meeting after trailing by seven points at the halfway mark. With Newcastle's riders, especially their top three trio of Kenni Larsen, Rene Bach and guest David Howe adapting to the greasy surface and looking more at ease than their hosts, it looked at one point as if the Tynesiders would end Monarchs' interest in the final with a leg to spare. Monarchs retreated to their bad old ways by frittering away points in the early stages and their gift 5-0 advantage to the Diamonds in heat six when both Ryan Fisher and William Lawson tumbled off on the third bend could easily have proved catastrophic.

Fisher also fell in his first ride but was incensed to be disqualified from the rerun blaming Larsen for parking his bike in front of him on the second corner.

The Californian, who went on to pick up seven points from his remaining three rides, said: "It was terrible to be excluded because someone stopped in front of me and I had no choice other to run into Larsen. I was so annoyed about that, and the whole meeting wasn't that great for me."

Lawson was considered a key man for Monarchs at reserve and although the Perthshire ace suffered an engine failure in his first outing, his eventual 12-point tally from seven rides was something of a tonic for his teammates.

Monarchs, who grabbed a 4-2 in the second race, had to wait until heat nine before they notched up another advantage when Kalle Katajisto and Kevin Wolbert outpaced Howe.

This kick-started Monarchs' comeback and with a brace of 5-1s in heats 12 and 13, the Capital outfit edged in front 41-36.

With the final two races shared, Monarchs retained their five-point lead, but will it be enough to derail Newcastle round their own track.

Monarchs skipper Matthew Wethers, who won just one race but a crucial one at that against Larsen and Howe, said: "Track conditions very very tricky for both teams. We needed to make good starts and we didn't, but I believe we can still do it, we won at Newcastle in the league, we just need to do it again. I managed to make a decent gate in heat 13 which pleased me as I went on to win the race."

Although Monarchs boss John Campbell had doubted the wisdom of Newcastle choosing Howe as a guest for the injured Mark Lemon, the Scunthorpe ace chalked up 11 points which was probably equal to what Lemon might have scored.Newcastle's Danish duo Larsen and Bach picked up 23 points between them and they are going to be the big danger to Monarchs tomorrow night. With Stuart Robson now stepping in for Lemon and Simon Lambert replacing injured reserve Dakota North, Newcastle are certainly not going to be significantly weaker. Adam Roynon guested for North last night but withdrew from the meeting after injuring his left knee.

Monarchs gaffer Campbell added: "It was such a pity that the rain ruined the meeting but we did well to come back after being so far behind at one stage."

Edinburgh Monarchs: Lawson 12, Wethers 10, Katajisto 8, Fisher 7, Wolbert 7, Morris 3

Newcastle Diamonds: Larsen 12, Bach 11, Howe 11, McKinna 4, Roynon 2, Sneddon 2.