Edinburgh Monarchs' league title hopes shattered as rivals squeeze through to the final

In an action-packed night at Ashfield, Monarchs kept the tie close as they battled to defend a 14-point lead from the first leg at Armadale just over a fortnight ago.

Kye Thomson was in impressive form as Monarchs lost out by two points. Picture: Jack Cupido

And, with just three races remaining, the Capital side, without skipper Paco Castagna who sustained a broken shoulder last weekend, were trailing by just six points 39-33.

But, a 5-1 in favour of the home side in heat 13, and then conceding a 4-2 in the penultimate race of the evening, ensured this year’s finalists would be determined by a last-heat decider, Monarchs’ Achilles heel this season.

Despite the endeavours of Kye Thomson and Justin Sedgmen, the Glasgow powerhouse pairing of Chris Harris and Kyle Howarth weren't to be denied as they fended off their opponents’ advances to seal victory.

The Tigers will now face either reigning champions the Poole Pirates, or the Redcar Bears, in next month’s final.

For Edinburgh, it's a bitter pill to swallow and a case of what if. In truth, they should have taken more than a 14-point advantage given their early dominance in the first leg at Armadale. Hindsight eh?

Australian Thomson, who scored 10, said afterwards: "I think we had everything thrown at us that we possibly could. We hung in for so long so it's very disappointing.to get pipped in the last race.

"I tried my hardest, I'm proud of all the boys efforts but that's speedway. We might not have a big gun at No.1 or No.5 but all of us stepped up and played a big role.

"So, getting to where we got and pushing the best team in the league right until the last race, not many teams can do that, we should all give ourselves a pat on the back and come back fighting next year."