Stellar Monarchs were well beaten by Oxford Cheetahs side who took the lead in heat 2 and never looked like relinquishing it, running out 52-37 winners and that scoreline was boosted by a 5-1 heat win in the final race for the home combine.
Alex Harkess, Edinburgh’s team manager, said: “It was very disappointing, but that’s where we are at the moment. We got the best possible start and it just went downhill from there.
“We couldn’t win races and didn’t look like winning one until heat 8. You can’t win matches if you don’t win races.”
It was a patched up Monarchs team with Craig Cook, Paco Castagna and Lasse Fredriksen all missing, but Oxford were impressive right through from the dominant Sam Masters to their lively No 7 Luke Killeen.
The biggest difference was in the reserve berths, Cheetahs outscoring Monarchs by 13-2 at No 6 and No 7. Bosses say Max Clegg, who is replacing Fredriksen, hasn’t been able to bridge the gap between a top National League rider and Championship level.
Edinburgh Monarchs (37): Richie Worrall 12+1, Drew Kemp 4+0, Kye Thomson 5+1, Bastian Borke 4+2, Josh Pickering 11+0, Dayle Wood 0+0, Max Clegg 1+0
Oxford Cheetahs (52): Sam Masters 11+0, Henry Atkins 2+1, Lewis Kerr 12+0, Jordan Jenkins 5+0, Scott Nicholls 9+0, Cameron Heeps 7+1, Luke Killeen 6+2
PICTURE: Sam Masters when he was with Monarchs
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