Brilliant Bears complete classic comeback!

Redcar produced a monumental comeback to keep their play-off hopes alive with a brilliant 44-46 away win at Edinburgh. Kye Thomson top scored for the Monarchs with 10+2 whilst Danny King hit a scintillating paid maximum (13+2) for the Bears. 

Edinburgh began on the front foot with a 4-2 heat advantage as Thomson took the win despite early pressure from Charles Wright, and with Josh Pickering in 3rd, the hosts had their first heat advantage. Heat 2 saw a superb battle between Connor Coles and Jake Mulford with the Edinburgh reserve taking the win despite strong pressure from Mulford, but with Max James at the back for Edinburgh, their lead remained at 2 points. 

Edinburgh’s lead was extended to 6 points after the middle order pairing of Paco Castagna and Lasse Fredriksen took a 5-1 after Dan Gilkes suffered mechanical problems. To compound Redcar’s heat 3 misery, Gilkes accidentally impeded his teammate Jason Edwards in the early stages, meaning the Bears asset could not make an impact on the Edinburgh pairing. 

Redcar recorded their first heat advantage in heat 4 as King gated for a comfortable win, and with Mulford passing Coles on the final lap, Redcar reduced the gap to 4 points at Armadale. After Wright won a shared heat 5, King produced a memorable move on the back straight of the opening lap to glide past both Pickering and Thomson to take the win, but with Ben Trigger at the back, Redcar remained 4 adrift. 

After the 4th shared heat of the night won by Sedgmen, Edinburgh opened up a 8 point lead with a 5-1, but not before some controversy! The original staging of heat 8 saw Coles fall on the opening bend (seemingly on his own) but the referee invited all 4 riders back for the re-run. The re-run saw Thomson and Coles gate for a comfortable victory to hand the Monarchs full control of the match at the halfway stage. 

However, with Gavin Parr playing his tactical substitute straight away, Redcar immediately hit back with a 5-1. Wright and King gated and took a comfortable win over Lasse Fredriksen to bring Redcar back into the meeting. Nevertheless, Edinburgh immediately restored their 8 point buffer with a 5-1 courtesy of Pickering and Thomson to send the home fans wild with a maximum heat advantage. 

After a shared heat 11 won by Sedgmen, Dan Gilkes produced a superb opening lap to take the chequered flag in heat 12, and with Trigger in 3rd, Redcar still had hope at 39-33. Heat 13 saw a rip-roaring encounter as Wright passed Sedgmen, and with King then battling his way past the Australian, the Redcar supporters sensed an opportunity. 

The penultimate race of the night saw another fantastic race as Edwards gated, but with Mulford at the back, a 3-3 looked likely. However, Mulford passed Coles entering the final lap which would have levelled the scores but with Edwards moving off the inside line, Castagna passed the Redcar man on the final bend to take the win and ensure Edinburgh had a 2 point lead heading into heat 15. 

Crucially, Redcar had the choice of gates in the final race with Gavin Parr electing to take gates 1 & 3. The race was essentially won by 2 brilliant gates from Wright and King as they cruised home for a superb 5-1 to take a 46-44 win and 3 league points!

Edinburgh Monarchs = 44 (85)

1. Josh Pickering = 6

2. Kye Thomson = 10+2

3. Lasse Fredriksen = 6+2 

4. Paco Castagna = 8

5. Justin Sedgmen = 9 

6. Max James = 0 

7. Connor Coles = 5+1

Redcar Bears = 46 (95)

1. Charles Wright = 15+1

2. Connor Bailey = 0  

3. Dan Gilkes = 4+1

4. Jason Edwards = 6

5. Danny King = 13+2 (Paid Max)

6. Ben Trigger = 2+1 

7. Jake Mulford = 6+2