Monarchs chairman Alex Harkess was not concerned with the narrow aggegate defeat by Sheffield in the Premiership this week. The loss was largely down to lack of scoring power at reserve. The injury to Brian Turner has come at a time when Christian Henry is still feeling his way around the tracks. The fact that a full strength Sheffield team only beat a weakened Edinburgh team by three points is encouraging. Harkess commented:
"I'm not that concerned about it. Brian will be back from injury in a fortnight which will make a difference. We definately need somebody to score points from reserve. And once Christian settles down he will do a useful job for us."
Monarchs had few breaks in the match. The track was wet and greasy. Blair Scott was unlucky to hit a bad patch on his first ride when trying to pass Wilson and went to third. He also fell trying to get past Lee and Wilson in his third ride.
Ross Brady also had a mixed time with a fall in his first ride. He also had some spectacular rides out near the fence. Brady added:
"It was pretty disappointing to lose. But the track caught most ot us out. It was really bad. I've never ridden on such a slippy surface in my life. I tried to get stuck in but made a mess of my first ride."
It will be two weeks before Edinburgh commence competitive action for the the year with a Premier National Trophy fixture at Berwick. Before that, there is a challenge match against the Czech tourists as well as the British Under-21 Final for Blair Scott and Ross Brady.
The first competitive fixture at Armadle will be the visit of title favourites Workington in three weeks time.