EDINBURGH Scotwaste Monarchs Aussie ace Matthew Wethers was the king of cool during his side's dramatic Premier League victory against Glasgow Tigers at Ashfield yesterday.
Seven days earlier, Monarchs had nicked a last race 5-0 to win the first leg of the Scottish Cup 45-44.
Glasgow fans must have thought it was Groundhog Day as Monarchs, whose victory hopes were about to receive the last rites after a nightmare fi
rst-half mauling by their hosts, repeated the trick for a second time with an astonishing 5-1 in the heat 15 finale to win the match 47-45 after trailing by 12 points at one stage.
It must have been extremely hard to stomach for Tigers fans, yet in truth their team chucked away a meeting they should have sewn up with plenty to spare.
The Tigers led 32-19 after eight races and Monarchs appeared to be content simply to launch a damage limitation exercise.
But a brace of 4-2 wins in heats 13 and 14 hauled them back into contention as they trailed by just two points, 44-42 ahead of the top scorers' showdown.
Wethers and team-mate Ryan Fisher faced Tigers captain Trent Leverington and Shane Parker.
A Monarchs 5-1, which they needed to deny the Tigers, looked improbable.
But Fisher made a stonking gate and breathed fresh air all the way to the chequered flag.
However, Wethers had Parker on his tail. And, round Ashfield in a last-race decider, it's akin to riding with a furnace strapped to
your back. Wethers remained as calm as a lake on a balmy evening and kept his fellow countryman pegged back in third spot.
The cheers as Wethers followed Fisher home were deafening. In stark contrast, Glasgow's faithful were speechless.
A simple term often sums up a speedway side's pedigree and, in Monarchs' case, it's their unquenchable fighting spirit which has lifted them above the also-rans this season.
Wethers, oblivious to the running score during a meeting, said: "Although I never look at the score, I never believed the match was a lost cause. We just never give up and we fight to the end."
Tigers' crestfallen leader Leverington, who finished last in the crucial decider, said: "It wasn't the best outcome, but that's speedway. We lost it towards the end. The Edinburgh guys made the best start in the last race.
"And the way our track has been in recent weeks, you cannot pass on it."
Monarchs gaffer Alex Harkess said: "We were terrible in that first half. But then the message that we are the champions, and should be doing better, sunk home. It was an amazing turnaround. And although our lads had beaten Leverington and Parker in earlier races, it's almost tradition that Parker wins heat 15. I knew if we made the gate we would do it."
Fisher, who blew his motor in his first ride, praised Wethers for his "awesome" effort in the last heat.
"I talked to Matthew before the race and said we'd both be looking to shoot for the outside and hoping that Matthew would clamp Leverington on the inside," he said.
"I knew I had to get across Parker because he wouldn't turn. I got a good jump and came down on him as quick as I could so he couldn't push me wide.
"There were too many bumps on the corner to team ride safely so I just went for it. Luckily, Matthew pulled through in second. He was awesome."
Monarchs captain Derek Sneddon, who pulled off two priceless wins, confessed he thought Monarchs had blown it.
"We looked dead and buried after that first half, but we showed exactly why we are the champions," he said. "We pushed and pushed all the way to heat 15. And it came off for us."
The only Monarchs who struggled were William Lawson, who collected four, but has been very tentative since his return from injury, and Aaron Summers, who failed to score at all.
Glasgow Tigers: Dicken 11, Leverington 11, Andersen 8, Parker 8, Juul 4, Davey 3.
Monarchs: Fisher 14, Wethers 14, Sneddon 8, Tully 7, Lawson 4, Summers 0.
The full article contains 705 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
