Edinburgh were eliminated from the Premier League Cup after a second leg defeat by Workington last week. This was always likely after Monarchs' defeat at Armadale in the first leg.
Edinburgh did make a fight of it at Derwent Park despite a poor show by Robert Eriksson who retired in two of his four heats. Kevin Little and Ross Brady backed up Peter Carr to keep the defeat to a respectable 50 points to 40. Will Beveridge and Christian Henry also contributed some points. Had Edinburgh taken even a modest lead to Derwent Park then the result could well have been different. However, it is unrealistic to give a side of the quality of Workington a lead in the home leg and expect to go through.
This is the first time that Edinburgh have lost a knock-out Premier League Cup tie since reorganization in 1997. They won the Cup in 1997 and 1999 and were eliminated in the group stages in 1998.
Workington now face Hull in the semi-final. Hull pulled off a surprise win over Stoke despite losing the home leg. In the other semi-final, Exeter face Swindon. Exeter eliminated Glasgow while Swindon edged out Berwick over two legs.
These ties should be raced in August.