Glasgow Tigers v Edinburgh Monarchs

Report

GLASGOW are through to the Cab Direct Championship Grand Final after a sensational late turnaround against fierce rivals Edinburgh.

The Tigers trailed by eight points on aggregate with just three races remaining but they pulled off two 5-1 and a 4-2 to snatch the semi-final 91-89 on aggregate.

Chris Harris and Kyle Howarth both made their way past Victor Palovaara and Kye Thomson for a 5-1 in Heat 13, before Leon Flint and Max Perry collected a 4-2 in Heat 14 to cut the gap to two points.

Harris and Howarth then sealed the comeback with maximum points over Thomson and Justin Sedgmen in the decider for a 53-37 win on the night, and by just two points overall.

Howarth completed a 13+2 paid maximum for the Tigers whilst Harris (14), Dan Thompson (11) and Leon Flint (8+3) all dropped just one point to an opponent. Sedgmen (11) and Thomson  (10) scored double figures for the visitors.

Tigers boss Cami Brown said: “I can’t speak highly enough of the boys. The atmosphere in the pits was electric, they worked so hard and never gave up.

“It was truly heart-stopping stuff because it looked like we were going to fall short. The spirit of this team was just incredible to keep fighting until the end when all seemed lost.

“I’m just so pleased for the fans, just sensational scenes. A huge crowd and they went wild at the end.”

Thomson said: “I think we got everything thrown at us, but we hung in for so long and it’s disappointing to get pipped in the last race.

“We all stepped up and we pushed the team that finished top all the way to the last race, so we can be proud of that, but it hurts.”

Glasgow will now face the winners of the other semi-final between Poole and Redcar in the title decider.

CAB DIRECT CHAMPIONSHIP, PLAY-OFF, SEMI-FINAL, 2nd leg
GLASGOW 53: Chris Harris 14, Kyle Howarth 13+2, Dan Thompson 11, Leon Flint 8+3, Max Perry 6, Freddy Hodder 1, Villads Nagel 0
EDINBURGH 37: Justin Sedgmen 11, Kye Thomson 10, Jonatan Grahn 7+5, Victor Palovaara 5+1, Michael Palm Toft 2, Jordy Loftus 2, Paco Castagna r/r
Glasgow win 91-89 on aggregate

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Photo credit: IAN ADAM