Isle of Wight Islanders 58: Edinburgh Monarchs 32
Premier League
Smallbrook Stadium, Isle of Wight
Tuesday 3rd July 2001
Monarchs went down to a big defeat to the in-form Islanders at Smallbrook. The margin of defeat was sufficient to give the Islanders the aggregate match point.
Monarchs recovered from an early deficit and were only two points down after five heats. They were then hit with three successive 5-1s. Heat 8 produced another advantage for the home side despite an attempted double tactical substitution by Edinburgh.
Monarchs did gain a couple of advantages in heats 9 and 12 but conceded too many 5-1s to hope to stay in the match.
Monarchs again had Simon Stead in as a guest for Peter Carr and Rory Schlein continued to deputize for Dalle Andersson. The Isle of Wight used rider replacement for the injured Sebastian Tresarrieu.
For the second successive day, Monarchs suffered a delayed start. This time it was down to the late arrival of the Ambulance after a first-aider was taken ill!
Heat 1: Danny Bird, Robert Eriksson, Scott Swain [71.1]
Danny Bird won from Robert Eriksson while Christian Henry fell at the back and retired.
(4-2) (4-2)
Heat 2: Davey Watt, Glenn Phillips, Ben Shields, Rory Schlein [71.8]
A maximum for the Islanders reserves.
(5-1) (9-3)
Heat 3: Simon Stead, Adam Shields, Blair Scott, Scott Swain [71.4]
Simon Stead continued where he left off at Exeter and beat Adam Shields. Blair Scott took third ahead of Scott Swain, in as rider replacement.
(2-4) (11-7)
Heat 4: Jan Andersen, Glenn Phillips, Ben Shields [Awarded]
Ray Morton was well ahead when he suffered an engine failure and stopped. Jan Andersen and Glenn Phillips avoided Morton but Ben Shields ploughed into him. The race was stopped and awarded with Morton excluded as the prime cause of the stoppage. Ben Shields picked up a leg injury.
(2-4) (13-11)
Heat 5: Adam Shields, Davey Watt, Robert Eriksson [71.9]
Christian Henry came out but retired from the heat and the meeting because of the leg injury sustained in heat 1. Adam Shields and rider replacement Davey Watt picked up a maximum over Eriksson.
(5-1) (18-12)
Heat 6: Danny Bird, Scott Swain, Jan Andersen, Rory Schlein [72.4]
A second successive maximum from Bird and Swain put the Islanders firmly in control.
(5-1) (23-13)
Heat 7: Davey Watt, Ray Morton, Simon Stead, Blair Scott [71.4]
Davey Watt won but credit must go to Ray Morton who held off a number of charges from Simon Stead riding on Davey Watt's spare bike.
(5-1) (28-14)
Heat 8: Scott Swain, Robert Eriksson, Glenn Phillips, Rory Schlein [72.1]
Monarchs attempted to make a double tactical substitution bringing in Robert Eriksson and Blair Scott for the injured pair Ben Shields and Christian Henry. It went wrong when Blair failed to make the two-minute call and had to be replaced by Rory Schlein. Scott Swain won the heat from Eriksson as the Islanders' lead was increased to 16 points.
(4-2) (32-16)
Heat 9: Simon Stead, Adam Shields, Jan Andersen, Davey Watt [69.9]
Simon Stead came in as a tactical substitute for Schlein. Davey Watt also came in as rider replacement. The tactical move paid off for Monarchs with a heat advantage as Stead beat Adam Shields after a very hard race.
(2-4) (34-20)
Heat 10: Danny Bird, Scott Swain, Simon Stead [70.2]
The Islanders picked up another 5-1 after a win by Danny Bird and Scott Swain over Simon Stead. Blair Scott's mechanical woes continued with a retirement.
(5-1) (39-21)
Heat 11: Robert Eriksson, Ray Morton, Davey Watt, Ben Shields [72.4]
Ben Shields came in as a reserve change for the injured Christian Henry. The heat had to be re-run after an 'unsatisfactory start'. Eriksson won from the home pair.
(3-3) (42-24)
Heat 12: Simon Stead, Adam Shields, Jan Andersen, Glenn Phillips [71.8]
Jan Andersen came in as a tactical substitute for Schlein. Simon Stead beat Adam Shields for the third time and Jan Andersen weighed in with third place.
(2-4) (44-28)
Heat 13: Danny Bird, Ray Morton, Robert Eriksson, Jan Andersen [71.3]
Robert Eriksson gated but Morton passed him on the inside while simultaneously Bird squeezed through on the outside.
(5-1) (49-29)
Heat 14: Adam Shields, Davey Watt, Ben Shields, Blair Scott [72.5]
The Islanders used Adam Shields as rider replacement but Edinburgh had run out of tactical options and conceded yet another heat advantage.
(5-1) (54-30)
Heat 15: Adam Shields, Simon Stead, Danny Bird [71.9]
Adam Shields finally managed a win over Simon Stead who did at least stop Danny Bird collecting a maximum.
(4-2) (58-32)
|
Isle of Wight Islanders |
|
|
|
||||
|
Danny Bird |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
|
13 |
|
Scott Swain |
1 |
0 |
2* |
3 |
2* |
8+2 |
|
|
Adam Shields |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
15 |
|
Sebastian Tresarrieu |
Rider replacement |
|
(5+1) |
||||
|
Ray Morton |
X |
2* |
2 |
2* |
|
|
6+2 |
|
Davey Watt |
3 |
2* |
3 |
0 |
1* |
2* |
11+3 |
|
Glenn Phillips |
2* |
2 |
1 |
0 |
|
|
5+1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Edinburgh Monarchs |
|
|
|
||||
|
Robert Eriksson |
2 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
R |
9 |
|
Christian Henry |
F |
R |
N |
|
|
|
0 |
|
Simon Stead |
3 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
13 |
|
Blair Scott |
1 |
0 |
M |
R |
0 |
|
1 |
|
Jan Andersen |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
6 |
|
Rory Schlein |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
0 |
|
Ben Shields |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
3 |
|
Simon Stead did another good job substituting for Peter Carr without reaching the consistency displayed at Exeter. Robert Eriksson and Jan Andersen both picked up points consistently before running out of steam towards the end.
Christian Henry has had a decent tour and his retirement after a heat 1 injury was a major blow. Blair Scott collected a point in his first heat before engine problems hit him once more. Ben Shield's points were gifted or at the expense of his teammates.
The Islanders demonstrated their strength in depth with a commanding performance throughout the team and proved too strong for the depleted Edinburgh side. They won 10 of the 15 heats and only had 4 last places or non-scoring rides.
Man of the match: Danny Bird
John Lowe