MONARCHS STAY ON COURSE

EDINBURGH kept the ball rolling in the Cab Direct Championship play-off places with a hard-fought 48-42 win over Scunthorpe at Armadale.

Justin Sedgmen scored a 15-point maximum for the Monarchs, who overcame the absence of unwell No.1 Victor Palovaara to record three more crucial league points.

The result moves them six points clear of the chasing pack, with both Edinburgh and fifth placed Oxford having four matches remaining.

Sedgmen’s maximum was backed up by a terrific show from captain Paco Castagna who scored 14+2, whilst reserve Simon Lambert (14+1) and Jake Allen (13+1) ensured a competitive display from the Scorpions.

Monarchs boss Alex Harkess said: “We got there in the end, but it was as tight as what I feared it might have been!

“Take nothing away from Scunthorpe, they did very well and they’ve done that in the past, so I wasn’t surprised at all that they kept it very close.

“We never really got that big a gap, but fortunately the gap came at the right time, so the pressure wasn’t on in the last two or three races.”

Scunthorpe manager David Howe said: “Tonight was a big improvement on our previous away performance at Glasgow last weekend.

“We were in the meeting and challenging, and we just fell short. Jake Allen was fantastic, while Simon Lambert also had a really good meeting, scoring plenty of points from reserve.”

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Photo credit: JACK CUPIDO