Edinburgh Monarchs 57-32 Berwick Bandits

Sam Masters was unbeaten for the home side, who dominated from start to finish as Edinburgh extracted revenge for the defeat at Shielfield 10 days earlier.

Berwick were livelier than on their recent KO Cup visit to Armdale and had three different race winners, but they didn’t really threaten to put Monarchs under pressure at any stage.

The home side lost Aaron Fox, who felt dizzy after his second place in heat 2. He was withdrawn as a precaution but felt OK later in the evening.

Three 5-1s in the first five heats put Monarchs 21-9 ahead, though they lost a surprise 4-2 in heat 6 when Berwick’s Kevin Doolan beat Craig Cook in the race of the night.

Cook made a poor start but gradually made up the ground, going ahead down the back straight on the final lap. However, Doolan regained the lead on the final corner for a great win for the Bandits.

Advantages in the next three heats stretched Monarchs’ lead to 20 points, and only their two one rider heats, allied to race wins in heats 10 and 12 for Steen Jensen, slowed the home team’s progress.

Edinburgh Monarchs: Masters 14+1, Worrall 12+1, Fricke 9+2, Cook 8+2, Sedgmen 7+1, Sneddon 5+1, Fox 2.

Berwick Bandits: Doolan 9, Jensen 7, Kus 5, Edberg 5, Vissing 3, Bellego 3.