Edinburgh Monarchs maintain play-off push with Comets stalemate
The Edinburgh Monarchs are hot on the tails of Cab Direct Championship leaders Scunthorpe after an enthralling 45-45 draw at the Workington Comets.
The Monarchs followed up Friday night's 52-38 win over Plymouth with another two points in Cumbria, although they may feel somewhat frustrated they didn't emerge with all three having led 44-40 heading into the final race.
The visitors were ahead for the the lion's share of the meeting at the GT Tyres Arena, teenage reserve Jordy Loftus once again the talisman scoring paid 13 from his seven outings, even getting the better of former Grand Prix star Troy Batchelor in heat four. Jonatan Grahn was also a thorn in the Comets side, scoring paid 13 from his six races that included two heats wins. The Monarchs were, for the second time in 24 hours, without the services of skipper Paco Castagna, who finished a respectable 10th in the Grand Prix Challenge in Terenzano. The Italian's rides were, however, well covered.
If Loftus, Grahn, Kye Thomson, and Justin Sedgmen, were all paid double figures, there was a rare off night for No.1 Dan Thompson, the Englishman battling hard but appearing to struggle for speed.
For the hosts, guest No.1 Nicolai Klindt delivered an impeccable 18-point maximum and was simply untouchable.
But when Grahn and Loftus combined for a heat 14 4-2, Monarchs had assumed a four-point lead ahead of the final four laps of the evening.
And although Thomson applied some pressure early on, Kilndt and Drew Kemp finished first and second respectively to seal the points required to earn their team a point for their endeavours.
Co-promoter John Campbell said afterwards: "I think we've got to be very pleased with picking up another two league points. Anything we can get away from home is a bonus. Nicolai Klindt of course made all the difference, (Jonas) Jeppesen may not have scored a maximum.
"But I'm very pleased we got the draw and the bonus. We had some exceptional performances."
The Monarchs now sit second in the race to finish in the top four. Next up is a trip to arch rivals Glasgow on Friday.