Edinburgh produced a fighting performance at Derwent Park before going down by 48-42. In a tremendous speedway match, Edinburgh fought all the way against the runaway leaders of the Northern Group.
Peter Carr led from the front with a score of 16 points from six rides. Support came from Robert Eriksson, still recovering from injury with 9 points from five rides. It was Christian Henry who really caught the eye with a brilliant display of overtaking to produce 8 paid 9 from six rides. Derek Sneddon did what was expected of him with 2 points, paid 3 from three rides.
While the top and bottom of the Monarchs line-up did well, the middle order was less than prolific. Jan Andersen had a disappointing match with 5 points from four rides, despite an excellent heat 9 win over Mick Powell and Rusty Harrison. Both Blair Scott and René Aas struggled to make an impact and were both replaced in their last ride. Blair Scott's 1 point paid 2 from three rides came at the expense of rookie Craig Branney. René Aas took 1 point from three rides, that coming after Mick Powell fell when leading heat three.
Carl Stonehewer with 13 paid 14 from fiive and Peter Karlsson with 12 also from five were instrumental in the home win. Both looked unstoppable and seemed to be cruising towards maximums until Peter Carr spoiled their night in the last heat.
Monarchs went ahead in heat three and held on until heat six. Workington edged ahead in heat seven and doubled the lead to four points in heat 10. A heat thirteen 5-1 put Workington in command with an eight-point lead. Heat fourteen was tied despite a win by tactical substitute Peter Carr. This clinched both the match and the aggregate bonus point for the Comets. Peter Carr and Robert Eriksson cut the lead back to six with a great heat advantage in the final race. This ended the hopes for a maximum for both Carl Stonehewer and Peter Karlsson.
Despite the uncertainty with the weather with a lot of rain before the match, the track was in great condition. This produced some close high-speed racing, a lot of passing, generally on the outside line, and a few falls.
Monarchs' hope of qualification is now looking less likely after this result given Sheffield's recent home and away wins over local rivals Hull. Edinburgh need to win their last three home match and at Glasgow and hope that Sheffield slip up. Results and tables are given below: