Edinburgh Monarchs v Scunthorpe Scorpions

Report

EDINBURGH maintained their unbeaten Championship record with a 52-38 win over Scunthorpe at Armadale.

Skipper Sam Masters scored a paid maximum (13+2) and Richie Worrall (14) dropped just one point, although it was only in the closing stages that the Monarchs pulled away.

Theo Pijper (11+1) top-scored for the Scorpions with 11+1 and was involved in some fine action with Josh Pickering, but Thomas Jorgensen was withdrawn due to a shoulder injury.

Pickering (10) said: “I had good battles with Theo throughout the night, he got me in Heat 9. I made a couple of little mistakes, I felt I could have had him, but he’s done a lot of laps around that track and he can ride a perfect race.

“For Heat 14 obviously I made a perfect start in the first run, that was from the only good spot on my grid. For the re-run I didn’t have any other spot to go off – I knew it was going to be hard!

“I had to back myself, but I also had to have faith in him to not stuff me up in the middle of the corner. But I had every intention to win it, and I’m so glad I did it.”

Scorpions boss Dave Peet said: “I thought we rode much better than the final scoreline suggests and we were right in it until the final three races.

“The rain did make the track tricky, although it was the same for both teams. The dirt-line then moved out very wide, which suited Edinburgh’s riders more than ours.

“Things didn’t go our way tonight. We will regroup for Sunday when Edinburgh come back to our place. We need to ensure that we win that meeting.”

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Photo credit: JACK CUPIDO