Last updated 19:38, Thursday, 03 April 2008

WORKINGTON Comets suffered their first defeat of the season when they crashed heavily at Armadale against Edinburgh Monarchs.

Carl Stonehewer leads Glasgow's Shane Parker

It was a disappointing night for the Comets who had to rely heavily on their three heat leaders.

New number one Daniel Nermark scored an impeccable 18-point maximum while Carl Stonehewer and Kauko Nieminen each scored seven. But the other four riders managed only five points between them.

There were a number of riders on both sides who felt the match should not have gone ahead as the track was extremely difficult early on.

Edinburgh, however, handled the tricky conditions much better than the Comets and showed themselves to be a solid combination.

They also benefited from the rider replacement facility. Thomas Jonasson had only scored 15 points from four meetings, yet his four programmed rides in this match were worth 10 points.,

The Comets had got off to a good start with an awarded 4-2 in the first heat. Ryan Fisher fell on lap three and referee Barbara Horley excluded the Monarchs rider and felt no need to re-run the heat.

But the advantage didn’t last long as the Edinburgh reserves Andrew Tully and Aaron Summers grabbed a 5-1 over Joe Haines after John Branney was excluded for a fall.

It got worse for the Comets in heat three when in-form Carl Stonehewer was forced to retire leaving Charles Wright in third place for another Edinburgh 5-1 as William Lawson and rider replacement Derek Sneddon collected most points.

Stonehewer and Wright had trapped well to go ahead but Lawson burst past them both and was followed soon afterwards by Sneddon.

Matthew Wethers won the fourth heat after trapping better than Workington skipper Kauko Nieminen. Aaron Summers was left at the gate but got back into the points for an Edinburgh 4-2 when he nipped inside Branney on lap two.

Trailing by eight points the Comets could only share the points in heat five. Nermark got away quickly but Smith trailed Fisher and Lawson.

Nieminen scored his first win in heat six, getting away from the tapes but it was only a shared points tally as Haines was at the back behind the Monarchs duo of Fisher and Sneddon.

Reserve Tully sprang a surprise in the next when he gated well and Stonehewer was unable to reel him in. With Wright also unable to get past Wethers it was a 4-2 advantage to the Monarchs to stretch their lead to 10 points.

It suddenly became a lot tougher in heat eight when the Monarchs raced to a 5-1. Haines had replaced fellow reserve Branney but could only manage third place behind Sneddon and Summers with Smith out of the points.

And Workington were in bigger trouble after heat nine when Edinburgh collected another 5-1.

Wethers got away best but Nieminen went round him to lead only for the Australian to sweep past on the fourth turn again.

That might have not been too bad but two laps later Lawson surged past the Workington captain and the Comets were in deep trouble.

Stoney made his best start of the night in heat 10 but he drifted wide on lap two and Fisher made an inside pass to lead. Sneddon finished third for another heat advantage to the Monarchs.

Nermark was given a tactical ride by team manager Ian Thomas in heat 11 and he duly raced clear for a six point return. But good damage limitation by the Monarchs saw Tully and Wethers fill the other points scoring positions for a 6-3.

It was business as usual for the Monarchs in the next after Haines spun out on turn one and was excluded from the re-run in which Lawson beat Stonehewer with Summers in third.

In the heat leaders contest as Nermark set-up a 4-2 with his captain Nieminen, the pair being split by Wethers.

But Workington were hit by another 5-1 in the penultimate heat as Lawson and Tully beat Wright.

A disappointing night for the Comets did end on a high as Nermark completed a spectacular maximum by winning the last race. Stonehewer took third for a consolation heat advantage to the Comets.

Edinburgh: Fisher 7, Sneddon 9, rider replacement, Lawson 14, Wethers 10, Tully 10, Summers 6.

Comets: Nermark 18, Smith 1, Stonehewer 7, Wright 2, Nieminen 7, Haines 2, Branney 0.

Comets were left pointless from their weekend of speedway action north of the border.

But whilst they had been well beaten before the end in Friday’s Premier Trophy reversal at Edinburgh, they were in contention right throughout at Glasgow’s Ashfield Stadium.

They led 22-20 after seven heats and were all square at 33-33 with just two races left.

The crunch came in the penultimate race when Glasgow’s two reserves Lee Dicken and Josh Grajczonek scored a match-winning 5-1 over Comets’ reserve Joe Haines and second string Charles Wright.

It meant that Workington needed a 5-1 of their own in the final race to square the match but they could only share the heat spoils.

Daniel Nermark continued his impressive form by winning the last heat after a great scrap with Shane Parker and that completed another brilliant maximum by Workington’s new Swede.

Once again the Comets were well served by their three heat leaders as Carl Stonehewer (11) and Kauko Nieminen (9) made solid contributions - but only eight points came from the rest of the team.

Glasgow reserve Dicken top-scored with 12 points and a bonus from his five starts while new Aussie Grajczonek helped himself to six points and two bonus.

And that was where the battle was won because Dicken and his reserve partner easily outscored their opposite numbers in the Workington line-up.

Workington had been given a flying start by Nermark and Scott Smith as they raced to a 4-2 in the first, with the pair split by Shane Parker.

Although Dicken won the reserve race, he was followed in by the Workington pair with newcomer Grajczonek at the back, so Workington still held a two-point advantage.

There was a remarkable incident in heat three which resulted in Wright being excluded.

On the first bend of lap two Wright fell off and Davey went out wide to avoid him. He ended up on the kickboards, ripped off an advertising sign, and finished back on the track, dragging the sign behind him.

The re-run with just three riders was won comfortably by Stoney to keep Comets out in front and when Nieminen did the same in the next there was a feeling that Workington might just be able to sneak a close contest.

It even got better in heat five when Nermark and Smith collected their second 4-2 of the meeting, this time with Trent Leverington the meat in the Workington sandwich.

Nieminen spent a season at Glasgow two years ago and he proved his track knowledge in heat six by beating home number one Parker after a good battle for two laps.

The tide started to turn for the Tigers in heat seven when a 4-2 was initiated by new boy Grajczonek with a fine pass round Stonehewer on the second turn. Robert Ksiezak beat Wright for third place.

The fact that Workington struggled without heat leaders was underlined in heat eight when Ross Brady and Dicken scored a 5-1 over Smith and Branney to give Glasgow the lead for the first time.

The Comets could have been back on terms immediately in heat nine as Nieminen won convincingly but an important third place for Haines was denied him on the line by a late surge from Davey.

But Workington did grab a 4-2 in heat 10 as Stonehewer raced clear of Parker and Wright had enough in hand over Brady to take third.

In heat 11 Nermark stormed away from the gate after being warned by referee Jim McGregor for moving at the first attempt. He won easily but partner Smith was out the back and the sides were still locked together at 33-33.

Heat 12 was a controversial one but it eventually finished all square. Dicken tangled with Stonehewer on the first bend and the Workington rider went down. It was alleged that gestures were made to Dicken and Stonehewer was fined £300 by referee McGregor. All four were in the re-run and Stonehewer got away well to win from Dicken and Leverington.

Nermark raced to his fourth win in heat 13 but Nieminen collected his first duck as he was out of the points.

Heat 14 was decisive. Dicken and Grajczonek got away from Haines and Wright to register the match-winning 5-1.

It needed something similar in the final heat for Workington but although Nermark beat Parker after a great battle, Stonehewer was out of the points behind Leverington.

Glasgow: Parker 10, Brady 4, Leverington 8, Davey 2, Ksiezak 5, Grajczonek 6, Dicken 12.

Comets: Nermark 15, Smith 3, Stonehewer 11, Wright 1, Nieminen 9, Haines 3, Branney 1.