Monarchs lose Dakota North during Rebels double-header

Sep 29 2011 by Kieran Westbrook, West Lothian Courier

SCOTWASTE Monarchs star Dakota North is set to miss the rest of the season after breaking his collar bone.

He collided with fallen Somerset Rebels’ Corey Gathercole on the first lap of heat three, capping a miserable meeting as the Monarchs lost 48 - 41 in the Wednesday night meeting.

But the Monarchs restored some pride on Friday night in the second part of the double-header as they grabbed a draw.

They fought back from a 12-point deficit to earn a share of the spoils with the match ending 46-46.

The visitors had tremendous guests in Derek Sneddon and Ashley Birks, and the superior gating of the Rebels earned them a 12-point advantage by heat 8, even though Monarchs had used Matthew Wethers as a TR as early as heat 5.

Sneddon even bounced back from a bad crash when Andrew Tully ran into him in heat 3, w hile young Birks again showed what a superb prospect he is.

Monarchs could have used a second TR in heat 9 but gambled on delaying it, which backfired as they gained an advantage in that heat and never had another opportunity.

However they chipped away at the lead and stood eight points behind with three races remaining. A powerful first corner in heat 13 gave home stars Kevin Wolbert and Craig Cook the advantage and a 5-1 result, making heat 14 crucial.

It looked as if the Rebels would clinch their win as Alex Davies and Ashley Birks led the way, but Matthew Wethers fell trying to pass them at the third corner.

Amazingly Kyle Howarth who had done very little to that point jumped out the start and rode four excellent laps on the wide line to share the race.

This gave the opportunity Wolbert and Cook needed, and they made no mistake in leading home Derek Sneddon and James Wright for a 5-1 to salvage a draw.

Overall it was not a good performance by Monarchs. They were outgated throughout the evening and on a track yet again affected by rain, it was not easy to recover.

After a patchy performance, Edinburgh showed their fighting spirit and gained some reward.

Chairman Alex Harkess said: “Full marks to Somerset – excellent choice of guests and much better gating got them a reward they deserved.”

Top scorers: Edinburgh – Kevin Wolbert 13. Somerset – Derek Sneddon, Ashley Birks 12.