Arena Essex are in the Final of the Premier League Cup and will face the winner of the Monarchs/Sheffield tie.
Arena lost by 44 points to 46 at Exeter in the second leg on Monday. The 50 points to 39 lead from the Purfleet leg was enough to take Arena through by 94 points to 85. It was a solid team effort by the Arena side with former Exeter riders Leigh Lanham and Roger Lobb starring.
This is good news for Monarchs should they get past Sheffield this week. Monarchs have a very good record at Arena and most of their riders like the track. They have already won there in the League this year by 48 points to 45. Last year they lost narrowly after looking likely winners most of the way. Monarchs were missing injured track specialist Paul Gould that day and would probably have won had he been present. In 1997 Edinburgh won at Purfleet by 49 points to 40 despite conceding a 5-0 in the final heat. While whoever meets Arena in the Final will undoubtedly face a stronger team. This is due to the return from injury of Troy Pratt and the great progress made by reserve Gary Corbett.
Certainly, none of the Monarchs team, with the possible exception of Ross Brady would have relished a visit to Exeter in a Cup Final so a trip to Arena is much preferable. Monarchs face Arena at Armadale a week on Sunday on Premier League business in what could be a rehearsal for the Cup Final.
To face Arena in the Final, Monarchs first have to defend a 22 point lead at Sheffield on Thursday. This will be a difficult task since Monarchs lost by 30 points in the League at Owlerton. That day Kevin Little (4 points from 5 rides) had major engine problems and James Grieves (5 points from 5 rides) was not really going either. David McAllan and Stewart McDonald were miles off the pace and failed to score. It was Peter Carr (14 points from 6 rides) with limited help from Ross Brady (5 points from 4 rides) and Blair Scott (2 points from 3 rides) who ensured Monarchs made 30 points. Last years Monarchs acheived 40 points and 38 points in two visits against a much weaker Sheffield lineup.
This Thursday will require a similar contribution from Peter Carr and improved totals from Grieves and Little should Monarchs make the required 35 points to progress. Ross Brady and Blair Scott might also prove to be key players. Both have been going well on the bigger tracks recently. Any points gained by Justin Elkins and David McAllan could also prove crucial.
It is likely to be a 'backs to the wall' operation for Monarchs with tactical substitutions likely to figure. It will require Monarchs to scrap for every point against the home riders who are trully awesome around Owlerton. However, no team requiring 57 points for an aggregate victory has succeeded in the Cup this year. The best second leg performance this year has been by Monarchs who overhauled a 53-37 first leg lead by Newport.