The meeting did not get off to the best of starts for Glasgow, losing a 1-5 in the opening heat with Joe Screen suffering from clutch problems. The Monarchs pair won the heat very easily.
Fortunes were reversed in heat two however, Michal making an excellent gate with Nick sitting in behind him for an equally easy 5-1. Lee Dicken came to grief on the opening bend and although he remounted it was more in hope than expectation and he later retired on the last lap whilst well at the rear.
After a level gate, the visiting pairing of Tully and Sneddon came out of bend two ahead. Coming into bend three, James Grieves in third went wide and blasted round the boards, passing first Tully and then squeezing round the outside of Sneddon on bend 4 to lead coming out of the fourth bend and from then on in he was never going to be caught. Theo, in as rider replacement, was stuck at the rear and although he got close to Tully on the final lap he was not a realistic threat.
Wolbert gated well and led Lee Complin out of the opening bends of heat 4. Wolbert looked very sharp and quickly opened up a gap. With Kyle Howarth at the rear, the race quickly became spread and it looked as if a share of the spoils was on the cards until Lee Complin suffered an engine failure at the end of lap two, giving the Monarchs a heat advantage.
A tough opening bend in heat 5 saw James Grieves muscle to the front ahead of Kevin Wolbert and although Wolbert was never far behind James, he was never close enough to pose a real threat. The competitive action in this heat was at the rear. nick had missed the gate but again used his inside line off bend two to pass inside Matthew Wethers in to third place. Wethers buzzed all over the back of Nick for a couple of laps, coming very close to getting through on the inside of bend two lap 3 when Nick drifted wide but Nick just held. However when Nick again drifted out on the wide line of bend two on the final lap, Wethers was in position to take full advantage and powered through the inside.
Glasgow finally got back on level terms on the night in heat 6 with Joe muscling to the front on the opening bends, Theo simultaneously passing inside Lee Dicken to claim third with Wethers in second place in what was a well spread heat.
The Monarch's pairing were impressive in heat 7, with Lee Complin missing the gate and Nick Morris wobbling on the opening bends as he tried to find a way through. Sneddon and Tully took full advantage and quickly pulled clear to win easily.
Theo got the better of Matthew Wethers on the opening bends of heat 8 to lead the race although Wethers continued to press for the opening lap before Theo pulled clear, Michal finishing in third to give Tigers a heat advantage in what became a well spread heat.
Michal Rajkowski gated in heat 9 and James Grieves went round the outside on the opening bends to slip in behind him in second spot. Despite a slight flight on bend three when James appeared to hit a rut, he worked hard to slow the race down, in particular Derek Sneddon who was all over him like a rash. It allowed Michal to pull clear at the front although towards the end of the race the gap again closed as Sneddon tried everything he could to get by James but in an excellent display of team riding, James had an answer to every move and Tigers gained a 5-1.
Joe Screen was back to his old self in heat 10, gating well and leading from start to finish. Theo was stuck at the rear however and a mundane heat was shared.
Edinburgh's Matthew Wethers used the outside line to come out of the opening bends ahead in heat 11 and never looked troubled. The other three riders were all in pretty close contention with Michal in second although Lee Complin was at the rear. In a decent race, Wolbert was challenging Rajkowski whilst being challenged himself by a determined Complin. Complin had tried to pass on the inside line of lap 2 bend 2 but Wolbert had firmly blocked the move. Next lap at the same spot Complin was much more determined and in a very hard move came inside Wolbert, in fairness leaving Wolbert very little room. The Edinburgh rider had no complaints though although he did pull up afterwards and failed to finish the race. It is refreshing to see a rider who can dish it out be equally able to accept it when an opponent is hard back.
Heat 12 was very much the Andrew Tully show as he coasted to an easy win. Again the action was for the minor placing's. Rajkowski had split the Monarchs pairing on the opening bends but Nick was left at the rear. it looked as if Howarth was going to hold Nick off but on the final bend Nick found drive by cutting up the inside and beat the Edinburgh reserve on the run to the line to claim third.
Kevin Wolbert gated in heat 13 but was quickly overhauled by both Screen and Complin on inside lines off bend 2. By the end of lap two the Tigers were already looking very comfortable as they went on to win.
Heat 14 was crucial and who better than James Grieves on current form in a crucial race. The Edinburgh pair gated but on bend two James swept round the outside. With the Edinburgh pairing caught up in watching Grieves move, they completely missed Nick as he slipped through the inside and what had started as a 1-5 became a 5-1 by the back straight. James pulled clear whilst Nick battled to hold off Derek Sneddon. Sneddon never gave up but Nick showed good awareness to prevent Sneddon from riding where he wanted to, blocking every move including a last bend outside sweep to follow James home for the 5-1 that gave Glasgow the Spring trophy.
The final heat was merely a formality but when the tapes went up it was once again the Edinburgh pair who gated. Although this time they held on the opening bends, James Grieves went round the outside of Matthew Wethers going down the back straight to slot into second. James then did his best to close on Wolbert but to no avail and Wolbert was to thwart his maximum. yet again however the action was all for the minor placing's and what excellent action it was between Wethers and Complin. From the second bend of lap two they were passing and repassing each other for fun in what was a great spectacle for the fans with moves inside and out, some quite spectacular and very close, Complin in particular squeezing through an outside gap at the end of lap 3 that didn't look as if it was there. in the end though it was the Edinburgh rider who came out on top after gaining the advantage on the backstraight of the final lap and holding off a late outside challenge to the line.
If you wanted to be over critical you could say Glasgow werent firing on all cylinders but that would perhaps be a bit harsh. When the chips were down they again pulled together as a team although James Grieves and Michal Rajkowski were undoubtedly the stand outs.
Edinburgh were certainly more in tune than on their last visit and were well served by Wolbert and guest Derek Sneddon who was probably worth more than his points tally. With Wethers and Tully also showing they have got to grips with the new Ashfield track they have certainly put down a marker for the league meeting later in the season.
There can be no doubt however that over the two legs the Tigers were deserving winners as they added another piece of silverware to this seasons haul.
