Speedway: Monarchs still not firing together

Edinburgh MONARCHS are still looking for their first away win in speedway’s League Cup Northern Group qualifying section after going down heavily 57-38 to a very solid looking Newcastle Diamonds side at Brough Park last night.

Monarchs’ failure, as has been the case since the season started, is getting all of their side to click at the same time, and the Capital side were indebted to Theo Pijper, Derek Sneddon and Craig Cook for the majority of their points.

However, it remains the case that too many Monarchs’ riders are not riding to their averages and this is placing a strain on everybody.

Pijper continues to excel and the Dutchman provided one of the highlights of the meeting with a superb last-bend pass to beat Diamonds’ top-gun Stuart Robson in heat seven.

Teammate Sneddon, a former Diamond, got Monarchs off to a flying start by winning heat one, but No. 1 Andrew Tully continues to shoot himself in the foot with his inability to make any fast starts.

Cook rode well without really dominating, but the Englishman will have been pleased with his victory in the heat 15 top-scorers’ race which he won with commendable ease.

All the Newcastle team won at least one race and the Tynesiders are certainly in the hunt for a spot in the semi-finals, something which is going to elude the Monarchs, who must be dreading the visit of in-form Workington Comets to Armadale on Friday.