Glasgow Tigers v Edinburgh Monarchs

Report

GLASGOW kept their Cab Direct Championship play-off hopes alive with a 50-40 win over Edinburgh – despite a stunning show from Monarchs No.1 Josh Pickering.

The Australian racked up an incredible 20 points from a possible 21, missing out on a full seven-ride maximum when he was beaten by home skipper Chris Harris in Heat 15.

But with Pickering scoring half of the visitors’ points on his own, the Tigers took the opportunity to move to within five points of fourth-placed Workington, and still with three matches in hand.

Reserve James Pearson enjoyed a great night with 12 points from five rides and skipper Chris Harris picked up 10+2.

Glasgow manager Cami Brown said: “We had to dig in at times to get that result. We knew Edinburgh would be tough.

“But in the end all the boys had their moments. We had a couple of fine displays from James Pearson and Leon Flint, plus a special mention for Tom Spencer.

“It was just about getting the win tonight. At the end of the day, we’ll have to win at Armadale anyway if we are going to make the top four.”

Monarchs boss Alex Harkess said: “It was a shame really we couldn’t do more, the bottom line is we can’t carry rider replacement away from home.

“Unfortunately, in this particular case we had a rider booked who called off late and we paid the penalty for that, I believe with a reasonable guest the score would have been a lot closer.

“Josh was exceptional as he tends to be, he carried the team and full marks to him.”

CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP
GLASGOW 50: James Pearson 12, Chris Harris 10+2, Leon Flint 9+2, Anders Rowe 7, Matic Ivacic 5+1, Jack Smith 4, Tom Spencer 3+2
EDINBURGH 40: Josh Pickering 20, Kye Thomson 8+1 Lasse Fredriksen 5, Paco Castagna 4+1, Connor Coles 3+1, Dayle Wood 0, Justin Sedgmen r/r

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Photo credit: IAN ADAM