What the Fork Monarchs did not rise to the occasion according to club bosses in the first instalment of the Scottish speedway derby matches against arch rivals Glasgow Tigers.
The Armadale men skidded to a 39-51 against a good Glasgow team who attacked the track to much greater effect than the home riders.
And disappointed Monarchs’ team manager Alex Harkess admitted: “We just weren’t good enough.”
Harkess said his men can’t have any complaints at the confidence-sapping result and he said: “We weren’t getting into good positions early in the races. Tigers rode very well and deserved their victory.”
Monarchs’ top two of captain Sam Masters and his Aussie countryman Josh Pickering did not dominate and Monarchs didn’t have enough points lower down the order to compensate for that.
Masters hadn’t previously dropped a point this season at Armadale but didn’t win a race until Heat 15 and James Sarjeant and Paco Castagna were the best of the rest for the home team.
All of the Glasgow riders earned wins or paid wins and former Monarchs skipper Craig Cook won his first three and looked in great form. Both Tom Brennan and Benjamin Basso looked really outstanding prospects.
Ulrich Ostergaard dropped just one point at a track where he was badly injured last season while Connor Bailey won two heats.
Danyon Hume bounced back after a first ride fall to beat Masters and Pickering in successive races.
Monarchs kept it level up to Heat 4, which was an impressive 5-1 from Pickering and Sarjeant, but that was as good as it got as Tigers built a 14 point lead over the next six races, including three 5-1s.
Monarchs plugged away and took three race victories and two advantages in the final four heats and face a daunting return at Ashfield on Sunday (tapes up 6pm).
PICTURE: Action from Armadale by Taylor Lanning courtesy of Glasgow Tigers
Edinburgh Monarchs (39): Sam Masters 11+1, Lasse Fredriksen 2+2, Paco Castagna 7+0, Kye Thomson 4+0, Josh Pickering 6+0, Jacob Hook 2+1, James Sarjeant 7+1
Glasgow Tigers (51): Craig Cook 11+1, Broc Nicol 2+1, Ulrich Ostergaard 9+2, Benjamin Basso 5+1, Tom Brennan 9+0, Danyon Hume 7+1, Connor Bailey 8+0
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