Edinburgh are to face Arena Essex in the Cup over the weekend beginning June 9th. The first leg is at Purfleet on Friday 9th June with the return at Armadale 24 hours later on the Saturday night. Both tracks operate on a Friday night and both have Saturday as their alternative. Monarchs have relinquished their fixture seniority to enable them to have the second leg at home. This allows the tie to be settled in front of the home support and Monarchs will have a definite target to aim for.
This tie will take place only a few months after Monarchs secured their second Premier League Cup win in three years against Arena Essex! Edinburgh's newly signed heat leader Kevin Little added in the Edinburgh Evening News:
"Having raced Arena in the final, it would have been nice if we had drawn different opposition to begin our bid to keep the trophy. By the same token, having beaten them over two legs with all the injury problems we had at the time, we have to be upbeat about aour chances of victory again."
Edinburgh will be hoping for a kinder run of Cup draws than they had in 1999. After beating bogy team Newcastle in the first round, Monarchs were rewarded with a trip to Newport to face the League Runners-up. If that wasn't bad enough, they then had to get past League Champions Sheffield to secure a place in the final. There will be few complains that the draw has again paired-up Monarchs with Arena Essex.
The Arena track is similar in length to Armadale and many Edinburgh riders consider it to be their favourite away track. Even Ross Brady who admitted that he used to dread visiting Purfleet said that he actually enjoyed himself on his last trip there. This says a lot about how riding at Armadale last season has dramatically improved his short-track technique.
Ross, who impressed everyone with his steady riding in the Cup final at Purfleet, is determined to acheive higher rewards next year:
"I went to the gym every couple of days last winter but I'm planning to do a bit more this winter in preparation for next year."
Ross began the season as a three-point reserve but moved up to second string with the first set of Green Sheets. This did not surprise that who monitored his progress in the 1998 season. However, the ease with which he stayed in the main body of the team did confound his critics. He started off either winning spectaularly or falling or blowing an engine. As the season progressed, the edge went off his gating but he learned how to ride steadily and pick up minor points when necessary. He has set the target of establishing himself as a good heat leader. He has no imtention of moving up to the Elite League until he has achieved this objective:
"Certainly one day I will be looking to step up into the top flight, maybe the season after next. But first, I want to become a decent heat leader in the Premier League. There is no point in rushing things until I feel within myself that I'm ready."
Wit Ross having added nearly four points to his average in 1999, Monarchs supporters will hope that he can put on another two or three points in 2000.