Glasgow Tigers 45: Edinburgh Monarchs 45
Spring Trophy
(Edinburgh win Spring Trophy by 92 points to 85)
Saracen Park, Ashfield
Sunday 26th March 2000
Edinburgh gained a draw after dramatic last heat decider in which Emiliano Sanchez fell after he had passed Robert Eriksson. Had Sanchez held his second place, this would have given Glasgow a win.
While a draw was probably a fair result, Edinburgh won ten of the fifteen heats and would have expected to win but for poor displays by Kevin Little and Ross Brady. Peter Carr put his indifferent Ashfield form of last year behind him to produce an immaculate 15-point maximum. Robert Eriksson and Blair Scott backed him up well.
The meeting was notable for a long run of 3-3 tied heats generally won by an Edinburgh rider.
Edinburgh made one change with Jon Swales replacing Brian Turner while Glasgow put in Berwick's Freddie Stephenson for in the injured Scott Courtney.
Monarchs' Captain Peter Carr lost the toss for a second successive mate. Gate position A was in used with Glasgow off 1 and 3 for the first heat.
Heat 1: James Grieves, Blair Scott, Kevin Little, Sean Courtney [63.3]
James Grieves gated put was put under pressure by Blair Scott who swept around the outside from gate 4. Kevin Little tuck in behind Blair and held off Sean Courtney. Blair made a valiant attempt to pass on the line but James just held on.
(3-3) (3-3)
Heat 2: Christian Henry, Aidan Collins, Freddie Stephenson, Jon Swales [65.3]
Christian Henry made a dramatic start by blasting around the outside of Aidan Collins on the second bend to lead. He held the lead all the way until the last lap when Collins appeared to have got his nose in front coming out of the last bend. Christian had more grip on the slightly wider line and edged a tight decision on the line.
(3-3) (6-6)
Heat 3: Peter Carr, Emiliano Sanchez, Richard Juul, Ross Brady [62.2]
Carr and Brady gated and appeared to have the heat under control but Ross got into trouble coming off the second bend banking and slipped to last.
(3-3) (9-9)
Heat 4: Robert Eriksson, Les Collins, Freddie Stephenson [62.4]
Robert Eriksson made the gate from Les Collins. Freddie Stephenson fell on the first bend and Christian Henry retired with bike problems. Stephenson restarted to take third.
(3-3) (12-12)
Heat 5: Emiliano Sanchez, Blair Scott, Richard Juul, Kevin Little [61.6]
Sanchez made a good start to lead with Blair Scott again taking up the chase ahead of Little and Juul. Tigers managed to break the deadlock when Juul passed Little to take third place.
(4-2) (16-14)
Heat 6: Robert Eriksson, James Grieves, Sean Courtney, Jon Swales [62.8]
Another immaculate start from Eriksson paved the way for his second win ahead of Grieves and Courtney.
(3-3) (19-17)
Heat 7: Peter Carr, Les Collins, Aidan Collins, Ross Brady [62.8]
Peter Carr went ahead but Ross Brady missed the start and could make little impression on Aidan Collins. He continued to get into trouble on the second bend banking and lost position when he appeared to have got past.
(3-3) (22-20)
Heat 8: Blair Scott, Sean Courtney, Aidan Collins, Christian Henry [63.3]
Blair Scott continued his good form with a great win over the lively pairing of Courtney and Aidan Collins. Aidan was in as a reserve change for Stephenson.
(3-3) (25-23)
Heat 9: Robert Eriksson, Emiliano Sanchez, Richard Juul, Jon Swales [62.0]
Eriksson produced a third start and a third heat win ahead of Sanchez and Juul.
(3-3) (28-26)
Heat 10: Peter Carr, Ross Brady, Sean Courtney, James Grieves [62.6]
The pattern of an Edinburgh rider winning the heat and Glasgow riders taking the minor placings was broken as Brady finally produced a consistent ride to back Carr to a heat maximum. James Grieves was rather subdued at the back leaving Courtney to make the running. This edged Edinburgh into the lead.
(1-5) (29-31)
Heat 11: Les Collins, Blair Scott, Kevin Little, Aidan Collins [63.4]
Les Collins secured his first win after making a good start. He easily held off first Kevin Little and later Blair Scott. Aidan Collins was always in contention at the back.
(3-3) (32-34)
Heat 12: Peter Carr, Richard Juul, Christian Henry, Freddie Stephenson [62.6]
Edinburgh brought in Christian Henry for Jon Swales as a reserve change. This change paid off with Henry beating Stephenson for third place behind Carr and Juul.
(2-4) (34-38)
Heat 13: Les Collins, James Grieves, Robert Eriksson, Kevin Little [62.4]
Robert Eriksson missed his first start after lifting. This allowed Les Collins and James Grieves to take a stranglehold on the heat and bring Tigers level.
(5-1) (39-39)
Heat 14: Emiliano Sanchez, Aidan Collins, Ross Brady, Christian Henry [63.6]
Ross Brady had another nightmare ride after losing position on the second bend again. Glasgow went back into the lead and set up a last heat decider for the match and also for the Spring Trophy. Glasgow needed a 5-1 to take Spring Trophy while Edinburgh needed a 5-1 to tie the match.
(5-1) (44-40)
Heat 15: Peter Carr, Robert Eriksson, Les Collins [61.8]
The choice of Carr and Eriksson was inevitable, as was that of Collins and Sanchez given Grieves's fitness. Carr and Eriksson made the gate with Sanchez pushing hard. It appeared that Sanchez had got past Eriksson to ensure a win for Glasgow when he fell coming out of the first bend on the last lap.
(1-5) (45-45)
|
Glasgow Tigers |
|
|
|
||||
|
James Grieves |
3 |
2 |
0 |
2* |
|
|
7+1 |
|
Sean Courtney |
0 |
1* |
2 |
1 |
|
|
4+1 |
|
Richard Juul |
1* |
1 |
1* |
2 |
|
|
5+2 |
|
Emiliano Sanchez |
2 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
F |
|
10 |
|
Les Collins |
2 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
|
11 |
|
Aidan Collins |
2 |
1* |
1* |
0 |
2* |
|
6+3 |
|
Freddie Stephenson |
1* |
1* |
0 |
|
|
|
2+2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Edinburgh Monarchs |
|
|
|
||||
|
Kevin Little |
1* |
0 |
1* |
0 |
|
|
2+2 |
|
Blair Scott |
2 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
|
|
9 |
|
Peter Carr |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
|
15 |
|
Ross Brady |
0 |
0 |
2* |
1 |
|
|
3+1 |
|
Robert Eriksson |
3 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
2* |
|
12+1 |
|
Jon Swales |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
0 |
|
Christian Henry |
3 |
R |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
4 |
Peter Carr who has generally struggled at Ashfield was totally dominant in this meeting and was never really challenged. Robert Eriksson showed his usual Ashfield form and dropped only two points. Kevin Little was very exposed in the number one position and only managed to beat Sean Courtney and Aidan Collins.
Ross Brady, normally a great Ashfield performer, also had a torrid time despite making some starts. He continually got into difficulty on the second bend banking. He did manage to beat James Grieves in heat 10. Blair Scott was the surprise package. He was much faster than riding partner Kevin Little. He produced his best away performance for some time.
After his 'false start' on Friday, Christian Henry had a good first match with a heat two win and a third place. Jon Swales struggled with his upright bike lacking pace on the fast Ashfield track.
Emiliano Sanchez was the pick of the Glasgow side. Les Collins was steady rather than spectacular. James Grieves still appears short of match fitness. Richard Juul was again very disappointing although he did manage to beat Kevin Little, Ross Brady and Christian Henry.
Sean Courtney was competitive and looked better than his score suggested. Aidan Collins had another great meeting with a score reflecting his efforts. Freddie Stephenson picked up a couple of points.
Man of the match: Peter Carr
Most exciting rider: Emiliano Sanchez
Next meeting: v Sheffield, Premiership, Owlerton on Thursday 30th March 2000
John Lowe