Edinburgh Century Mortgages Monarchs 56: Glasgow Qfm Tigers 34
Scottish Cup
(Edinburgh win the Scottish Cup by 103 points to 80)
Lothian Arena, Armadale
Friday 22nd October 1999
Edinburgh without Peter Carr overcame the challenge of a ‘Glasgow select’ to win the Scottish Cup and pick up their second piece of silverware in six days at Armadale. Edinburgh were always in command and had the Scottish Cup effectively clinched after heat 12.
Glasgow were without the unavailable Paul Bentley, Emiliano Sanchez and Will Beveridge. Given the ‘flexibility’ of the rules agreed between the two promotions, Glasgow used track specialists David Walsh (for Sanchez) and Paul Gould (for Beveridge) both from Newcastle. Rider replacement was employed for Bentley giving a potential extra ride to each of their riders. Glasgow drafted in Aiden Collins at reserve.
Edinburgh used Paul Thorp of Stoke for Peter Carr, who had to return to hospital today. Edinburgh continued with rider replacement for Justin Elkins and had David McAllan back in at number 6.
The track had plenty of dirt and was grippy particularly out wide.
Monarchs’ Captain Kevin Little ended the season with a rare win of the toss. Gate position A was in used with Edinburgh off 1 and 3 for the first heat.
Heat 1: James Grieves, Les Collins, Paul Gould, Blair Scott [58.2]
Edinburgh used Blair Scott as rider replacement. Blair lifted at the start and was struggling to get back on terms. James Grieves made a sharp gate and held off a challenge by Les Collins.
(3-3) (3-3)
Heat 2: Blair Scott, David McAllan, Aiden Collins, Dean Felton [59.9]
Aiden Collins made a good start and led. Blair Scott swept past on the third bend and David McAllan soon followed going past the start/finish line to ensure an easy maximum for Monarchs.
(5-1) (8-4)
Heat 3: Ross Brady, David Walsh, Sean Courtney [59.3]
Ross Brady and Kevin Little gated but Kevin locked on the second bend and fell causing the race to be stopped. The rerun with Kevin excluded was won by Ross Brady who left Walsh for dead at the start and won by a big margin.
(3-3) (11-7)
Heat 4: Les Collins, Blair Scott, Aiden Collins, Paul Thorp [60.7]
Paul Thorp and Blair Scott started well but rider replacement Les Collins charged around the outside from gate 4 to head off Scott by the third bend. Thorp passed Scott and charged at Collins only to fall and remount on the second bend.
(2-4) (13-11)
Heat 5: Ross Brady, Les Collins, Kevin Little, Paul Gould [59.3]
Kevin Little lined up despite feeling rather groggy following his fall. Ross and Kevin gated once more but Les Collins picked up enough speed to pass Kevin. He could make no impression on Ross who was really flying.
(4-2) (17-13)
Heat 6: James Grieves, David Walsh, Dean Felton, David McAllan [59.8]
Walsh came in as rider replacement for Glasgow and McAllan came in for Edinburgh. Walsh made the start but was picked off by Grieves to tie the heat.
(3-3) (20-16)
Heat 7: Paul Thorp, David Walsh, David McAllan, Sean Courtney [59.1]
Walsh again made the start ahead of the Edinburgh pairing. Paul Thorp looked good and swept past Walsh for his first win with McAllan third after resisting a charge from Courtney on the line.
(4-2) (24-18)
Heat 8: Ross Brady, Les Collins, Blair Scott, Paul Gould [60.2]
Glasgow brought in Les Collins as a tactical substitute for son Aiden. The presence of Ross Brady as rider replacement probably ended any thoughts of a golden double. Ross won once more from Collins while Blair Scott came from the back to pass Paul Gould.
(4-2) (28-20)
Heat 9: Ross Brady, David Walsh, Kevin Little, Dean Felton [59.7]
Glasgow used David Walsh as a tactical substitute for rider replacement. Brady and Little gated again with Brady out ahead and the struggling Little holding off Walsh. Eventually Walsh found a way past Little for second place.
(4-2) (32-22)
Heat 10: Blair Scott, David Walsh, James Grieves, Paul Gould [60.1]
David Walsh and Blair Scott gated with Grieves struggling to start for once. Rider replacement Blair Scott passed and repassed Walsh to record a great win. Grieves managed to close in on Walsh but could not get past.
(4-2) (36-24)
Heat 11: Paul Thorp, Les Collins, Paul Gould, David McAllan [60.3]
Paul Thorp gated ahead of Les Collins and despite Collins forcing his way through on the inside Thorp came back for a very impressive win.
(3-3) (39-27)
Heat 12: Blair Scott, David Walsh, Dean Felton, David McAllan [61.1]
David McAllan replaced the shaken Kevin Little and joined his reserve partner Blair Scott. This produced a superb two races in one heat. Blair Scott passed Walsh to win while McAllan had an enthralling scrap with Felton before losing out.
(3-3) (42-30)
Heat 13: James Grieves, Paul Thorp, Les Collins, Aiden Collins [60.7]
Grieves and Thorp gated with Les Collins and rider replacement Aiden Collins trailing. This was a classic with Grieves just ahead of the two veterans who passed and repassed each other several times before Thorp secured second place off the last bend.
(5-1) (47-31)
Heat 14: Ross Brady, Blair Scott, Aiden Collins, Paul Gould [61.1]
Paul Gould came in as a tactical substitute for Courtney. Blair Scott, in as a reserve replacement for McAllan, gated this time from Collins but Ross Brady swept around the outside to lead by the end of the first lap and complete a 15 point full maximum.
(5-1) (52-32)
Heat 15: James Grieves, Les Collins, Paul Thorp, Dean Felton [60.2]
Blair Scott had completed his seven rides so Monarchs had the choice of Brady, Grieves, and Thorp. They decided against putting Ross out for a sixth time. Glasgow used Les Collins but Dean Felton came in rather than David Walsh. Grieves and Thorp were away once more but Les Collins split the home pairing.
(4-2) (56-34)
|
Edinburgh Monarchs |
|
|
|
|
||||
|
James Grieves |
3 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
|
|
13 |
|
Justin Elkins |
Rider replacement |
|
|
|
(6) |
|||
|
Kevin Little |
X |
1 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
2 |
|
Ross Brady |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
|
|
15 |
|
Paul Thorp |
0 |
3 |
3 |
2* |
1 |
|
|
9+1 |
|
David McAllan |
2* |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
3+1 |
|
Blair Scott |
0 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
2* |
14+1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Glasgow Tigers |
|
|
|
|
||||
|
Les Collins |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
14 |
|
Paul Gould |
1* |
0 |
0 |
1* |
0 |
2+2 |
||
|
David Walsh |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
12 |
|
|
Sean Courtney |
1* |
0 |
0 |
1+1 |
||||
|
Paul Bentley |
Rider replacement |
|
|
|
(7) |
|||
|
Dean Felton |
0 |
1* |
0 |
1* |
0 |
|
|
2+2 |
|
Aiden Collins |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
|
3 |
James Grieves had vowed to end the season with a maximum. He was unable to recover from a poor start in heat 10 and missed out. Paul Thorp did an excellent job deputizing for Peter Carr and enjoyed riding the wide line. Kevin Little struggled with injury after falling in heat 3 and was unable to hold position in his final two rides despite gating well.
The star of the show was Ross Brady who recorded a superb maximum and reveled in the dirt out wide. Blair Scott was also dominant apart from his blank in heat 1. Rider replacement produced two last places and then two wins. David McAllan had a mixed meeting and was hampered by poor starting.
Glasgow were a two man team with Les Collins and David Walsh accounting for 26 of their 34 points. Neither was anything near their best and collected their points by consistently finishing second. The Glasgow rider only carded one heat win by Collins in heat 4 after Thorp fell in pursuit.
Paul Gould and Dean Felton never really got going although they did produce a couple of good rides each to take points at the expense of Monarchs’ reserves. Sean Courtney collected only a gift point. Aiden Collins gated well and was generally on the pace but collected only gifts and points at the expense of his team-mates.
Man of the match: Ross Brady
Most exciting rider: Blair Scott
Next meeting: v Glasgow(?), Spring Trophy, Armadale in late March 2000.
John Lowe