Edinburgh maintained their unbeaten home run in the Premier League against Berwick at Armadale.
Monarchs established a firm grip on the match early on and were never threatened. Most of the interest centered on the fight for the bonus point. This required a win by 16-points. It appeared to be well within Monarchs' grip whith a 12-point home lead after 10 heats. Berwick hit back and the margin was still at 12-points going into heat 14. This left Monarchs needing a couple of 4-2 heat advantages or a 3-3 and a 5-1. Disaster struck in heat 14 when both home riders missed the gate and Ross Brady fell trying to pass on the second bend. With Brady excluded, this put pressure on Christian Henry as a Bandits' heat advantage would seal the bonus point. Henry got amongst the two visitors and Dean Felton fell bringing off Henry in the process. With Felton excluded, Henry rode sensibly after being beaten away by Scott Smith knowing that a 5-1 Monarchs heat 15 win would force a run-off.
Carr and Eriksson uncharacteristically missed the start in the final heat and while Carr was soon in the lead, Eriksson had to work much harder. He eventually passed Mogridge on the outside of fourth bend and Moggo fell. Showing great sporting instinct, Mogridge made no attempt to stop the heat by staying down and the aggregate scores were tied. Carr made no mistake in the run-off, beating Mogridge away from the gate and pulled ahead to win by a large margin.
Carr completed an immaculate 5-ride (or should it be 6-rides?) full maximum. Robert Eriksson collected a fine paid maximum despite not showing his usual commanding gating all the time. Christian Henry put in a fine shift and was paid for 9 points from five rides. Blair Scott and Kevin Little provided support although Ross Brady fell twice to limit his score.
Mogridge and Bentley recieved support from Meldrum but the bottom end, inclding Glasgow junior, Gary Flint, had little to offer beyond capitalizing on mistakes by the Monarchs lower orders. Rider replacement was used for Jorg Pingel.
Monarchs now have to beat Stoke and Exeter at Armadale to secure a 100% home record.
Current Premier League results and tables are as follows:
Monarchs remain in sixth place despite collecting three points. They only need two more points to guarantee a Young Shield place.