Edinburgh Monarchs crash out of cup as skipper Paco Castagna involved in horror crash

Twelve points down from the first leg on Teesside following a 51-39 defeat, Monarchs were confident of overturning the deficit at Armadale and progressing to the semi-finals.

Kye Thomson (red) tries to squeeze into the lead. The Australian was superb with 13. Picture: Jack Cupido

However, they came up well short, and had to fight hard for a heat 15 5-1 just to salvage a 45-45 draw.

The biggest concern, though, is the fitness of skipper Paco Castagna, who had to withdraw from the meeting with an ankle injury following a horror crash in heat three that saw the Italian catapulted from his bike and over the air fence after colliding with Bears No.3 Jordan Jenkins.

The hosts did get off to the perfect start with a 5-1 in the opening heat, Jonatan Grahn shooting from the tapes and untroubled thereafter with team-mate Dan Thompson finishing in second behind the Swede.

And although the Monarchs huffed and puffed to lead by four at the midway point, the injury to Castagna proved too much for the depleted Capital outfit.

Kye Thomson continued his fantastic start to the 2026 campaign with 13, No.1 Thompson also collecting 13 from five outings, and Justin Sedgmen on point with 10. However, reserve duo Mitch Cluff and Jordy Loftus had another off night with a combined three between them.

Monarchs now turn their attention to a triple header next week when they conclude their BSN Series campaign with home and away meetings against the Berwick Bandits on Friday and Saturday respectively before heading for Glasgow on Sunday.

"Australian Thomson said: "It was a shame what happened with the captain going over the fence, it was nasty and you don't want that happening to anyone. It put a dull moment on the team but we fought hard. It wasn't quite enough. The Redcar boys came on strong towards the end.

"I've been a here a few years now. I've finally got enough financial support to buy equipment and it's paying off. I'm working hard at the moment."

Co-promoter Alex Harkess added: "It was a very disappointing night. It was always going to be difficult when we lost Paco, but the heat leaders did their job, we just didn't have any back up."