The Premier League Cup was returned to Armadale. Edinburgh were the winners of the Cup in its inaugural season in 1997. When Monarchs failed to qualify from the Northern regional group in 1998, the Cup was won by arch-rivals Reading. The Cup newly comissioned for the 1997 season has the names of Edinburgh, Reading and Edinburgh engraved on it.
Success in the Cup, brought Monarchs some reward for their efforts in a season that promised so much yet delivered so little. Uniquely, Edinburgh were in contention for every Premier League trophy. They won the Cup, were runners-up in the Premier National Trophy, and took third place in the Premier League. In addition they were querter finalists in the Young Shield and finalists in the Fours and the Pairs. Monarchs also were one of three tracks with two riders competing in the Premier League Riders Championship.
Monarchs failure to win more can be attributed to long term injuries suffered by Stewart McDonald, David McAllan, and McAllan's replacement Brian Turner and also to niggling injuries to James Grieves, Kevin Little, and Peter Carr. However it can also be put down to some indifferent performances at key stages of the season.
Monarchs' team manager Alan Bridgett acknowledged that Edinburgh had fallered to deceive this season and failed to achieve what they were capable of. Bridgett commented:
"That is why lifting the Knockout Cup was such a tremendous result for us. We needed something to prove that we had it within ourselves to win something. It's been a bad year with regards to injuries. This disrupts the continuity of the team."
"You are extremely fortunate if you can stick with the seven riders you started the campaign with. Even our ever-present riders suffered knock but just had to ride through them."
In fact none of the Monarchs team managed to ride in every meeting. Peter Carr missed two or three meetings due to leg injuries, James Grieves missed missed meetings with his rib injuries, and Kevin Little suffered a broken wrist. Ross Brady missed one meeting due to illness while Blair Scott was absent from one meeting with chest and leg injuries. Stewart McDonald, David McAllan, Justin Ekins, and Brian Turner all missed several meetings.
Monarchs certainly didn't have an easy ride in the Cup. They had to get past bogy team Newcastle, the dangerous Newport team and then, toughest of all, Sheffield in the semi-finals. Arena Essex pulled of a semi-final win that at least spared Monarchs another daunting trip to Exeter. Arena Essex finished as low as ninth in the Premier League and Purfleet is the favourite away track for most of the Edinburgh riders. Despite this, the final was far from easy even though Edinburgh took an 18-point lead to the away leg. Bridgett added:
"It was a stressful night even before the meeting got under way. We were up then down. But there was some pretty good racing and I was proud of the way all the boys refused to fold after Peter's fall."
"A lot of teams might have collapsed under similar circumstances. Our captain, Kevin Little, hasn't been performing as he can. Yet he popped up with two vital race wins, despite a tape exclusion in one of his other rides. I think Kevin needed those victories because he was under a lot of pressure and was the first to acknowledge that he was not scoring as well as he should have been. I felt so pleased for him and the whole team."
Arena Essex boss Peter Thorogood, uncharacteristically, had a go at Monarchs for using rider replacement for Justin Elkins and for selecting local junior Phil Ambrose to take the number 6 racejacket. Drafting Ambrose certainly paid off for Monarchs as Bridgett agreed:
"Phil could have been a hit or a miss. It was a gamble on our behalf. But the lad did magnificently to score some valuable points. Before his first race, I tried to take the pressre of him. I told him to ride round as he normally does and that any points he got would be a bonus."
"The cup success certainly made up for our earlier misfortune. It's what we've strived to do. It wasn't a foregone conclusion despite the optimism some people had that we would pull it off. We had to do it on the night and that is never easy, especially away from home."
Unfortunately, Monarchs will not the cup outright should they retain it in 2000. This will probably require three successive victories.