Monarchs successfully defended their Spring Trophy last weekend in an excellent battle with Glasgow, and this week they open their Premier Trophy qualification bid with home and away matches against Stoke. The Potters come to Armadale on Friday spearheaded by the highest average rider in the Premier League, Danish ex-World Finalist Jan Staechmann. This elegant stylist raced in the Elite league last year and will certainly provide a stern test for Peter Carr, Robert Eriksson and Jan Andersen whose brilliant displays were the foundation for Monarchs Spring Trophy win.
Aussie Ben Shields was the innocent victim of a spectacular pileup last week on his home debut, and was forced out of the meeting with an ankle injury. He has been limping heavily this week but will definitely take his place in the side to face Stoke.
His machinery suffered expensive damage but has been repaired by Kenny McKinna. All Ben needs this week is a change of luck.
This match is the first part of a double against the Potters. Monarchs travel to Stoke on Saturday for their first away match in the Premier Trophy on a track where they have enjoyed considerable success over the years, though on their last visit some controversial refereeing robbed them of a win.
Team captain Peter Carr says "We want at least a home win plus a bonus point from the matches, if not two wins. We are capable of winning home and away if everyone rides as well as they are capable of".
The visit of Dane Jan Staechmann to Armadale for the first time should ensure some memorable racing on Friday. He made a great debut at Ashfield last week, being involved in a classic heat 13 with Les Collins and several other good heats.
Staechmann (34) rode for Oxford and Belle Vue in the Elite League last season, and is a former World Finalist. He qualified for the last one-off World Final in 1994 whilst with Long Eaton.
Apart from Staechmann, Stoke will be looking for points from Paul Pickering who is a rider who can perform on all tracks. However Paul has rarely produced his best form at Armadale especially when guesting for Monarchs.
Stoke have a strength in depth team and will probably be looking to their middle order of Mark Burrows, Tony Atkin, Jon Armstrong, and Dean Felton to take enough minor points to keep the team in contention.
Stoke suffered a heavy defeat at Glasgow last Sunday with only Jan Staechmann competitive. However they did rather better at Sheffield on Thursday going down by 53 points to 37.
TEAMS FOR THE PREMIER TROPHY MATCH AT ARMADALE ON FRIDAY 30th MARCH (START TIME 7.30, DOORS OPEN 6.30) ARE:
EDINBURGH MONARCHS: Robert Eriksson, Blair Scott, Ben Shields, Jan Andersen, Peter Carr (capt.), Christian Henry, Derek Sneddon.
STOKE EASY-RIDER POTTERS: Paul Pickering, Jon Armstrong, Mark Burrows, Tony Atkin, Jan Staechmann, Dean Felton, Neil Painter.
Derek Sneddon will be looking to consolidate his bright start to his career. His reserve partner Christian Henry has made a slightly patchy start to the season, though he did record an excellent win over Mark Courtney last Friday. He isn't one to make excuses but it is worth pointing out that he has been suffering from a back strain which he sustained in Australia, and added to that a viral complaint on the day of the opening meeting. He said "I didn't take 'flu jags on the way over so I hope that isn't catching up with me. I expect to be fitter and ride better this week."
Monarchs' reserves will come up against Stoke's experienced pairing of Dean Felton. While Painter has spent the bulk of his career in the Conference he has had some Premier League experience with Newcastle. Felton is one of the strongest reserves in the Premier League having spells with Long Eaton, Berwick, and Glasgow. The two matches against Stoke will be a useful measure of the progress of the Monarchs' reserves.