With the League title already having gone North of the Border, the Somerset Sharp Rebels looked to overturn a 21-point deficit in the home leg of the Premier League Play Off semi-final.

In August the Rebels had gone down by 42-points at Armadale, but last Friday they gave themselves a chance of progressing by holding a strong Monarchs side to a much more manageable, albeit difficult, total.

Despite still being without Simon Walker, things looked a little more even after Edinburgh lost the services of Thomas Jonasson in mid September. Then at the eleventh hour the Rebels lost Matthias Kröger to illness, and had to draft in a late replacement in the shape of ex-Rebel Danny Warwick. Kröger’s contribution this year, especially at the Oak Tree Arena, has been one of the highlights of the Rebels successful 2008 season, so his absence at such a late stage was a big blow.

 Making light of their setback the Rebels came roaring out of the traps, right from the outset. They dropped only three points in the first five heats, as they sped to a 22-8 lead. Emil Kramer put some recent inconsistent form behind him, when he took Heat 1 after a terrific race long tussle with Mathew Wethers. Both men were taking respective rider replacement rides for their teams, and their battle left behind the two men who were programmed for the race, with the unusual sight of Jason Doyle, not only finishing behind one rider, but two in his opening ride. Wethers broke quickly, and was soon challenged by Kramer on the wide outside, the pair were locked together for all four laps, until Kramer conjured up a run mid track, as he dropped from the outside line, to get up right on the line. Doyle easily beat Lawson to give the Rebels an opening advantage.

Brent Werner made no mistakes when Aaron Summers jumped early on his outside. He wasn’t distracted as he powered away from the line to lead every inch of the way. Danny Warwick made a good start, and took up second place to put the Rebels on a 5-1, only to see Monarch skipper, Derek Sneddon nip up his inside at the start of the second lap, and spoil the party.

The first 5-1 wasn’t long in coming though, as Emil Kramer emerged from a level break to lead before the first turn in Heat 3. Stephan Katt was all over Ryan Fisher, and dived up the inside on the final bend of the lap, but was held off by the Californian. Almost a lap later he was inside Fisher again when the Monarchs man appeared to drop a chain, and slid to the ground, leaving the Rebels to pick up the maximum advantage.

Jordan Frampton put his Armadale nightmare behind him, with a superb opening ride to take Heat 4. Fast away behind his team mate Brent Werner, he took advantage of Mathew Wethers big lift off the line to shoot through to lead on the second bend. Wethers recovered quickly, and went second, passing Werner on the final two bends of the lap. Once in front Frampton pulled away, leaving Wethers trailing in his wake.

Emil Kramer and Stephan Katt added their second 5-1 of the night in Heat 5, as they bolted out of the gate to lead all the way with a great display of team riding. This time it was Katt who took the win with Kramer, sitting on his inside, close behind. Andrew Tully took third, but in truth, he and William Lawson never got in a blow.

It’s not often the Oak Tree Arena crowd witness Jason Doyle beaten once, never mind twice, but that’s exactly what happened in Heat 6. Mathew Wethers, who always seems to enjoy his trips to the Highbridge circuit, was fortunate not to get called back after a jump at the start, and to make matters worse he was followed off the line by his skipper, Derek Sneddon. The Rebels pair soon recovered from their tardy starts, as they swooped either side of Sneddon on the back straight, and into the third turn. However the damage was done, and Doyle never got back on terms with the flying Wethers, as he and Jordan Frampton filled the minor places for a shared heat, and the Monarchs first heat winner f the night.

John Campbell didn’t wait long to try to reduce the Monarch deficit, as he sent out Ryan Fisher in the ‘Black and White’ in Heat 7. It was a bold move considering Fisher had not completed his first race, with what turned out to be a blown engine, and not a chain as first appeared. Despite his boldness he had to make do with crumbs rather than the full loaf, as Jordan Frampton’s brilliant inside pass on the fourth bend spoiled the move. Fisher had looked like making the tactical move pay as he bolted out of the gate, but he had no answer when Frampton appeared on the scene late in the lap.  Andrew Tully outpaced Danny Warwick to take third, and give the Monarchs a minor heat advantage, but not the large one they had hoped for.

Heat 8 was shared, with Fisher taking the rider replacement ride, and the heat win in the process. It might have been even better for the Monarchs as Derek Sneddon held third place, and was challenging for second, when his motor gave up the ghost in the opening stages of the second lap.

With the Monarchs putting the brakes on the Rebels charge for glory, it was Emil Kramer and Stephan Katt who again came to the rescue with their third 5-1 on the spin. They both made lightning gates, and with Aaron Summers running very wide, powered to the front to lead from Mathew Wethers. Wethers was soon on Katt’s heels, and never let him rest as he challenged the German on the inside of the second and fourth bends of Lap 2. On the final lap he switched out wide, coming with a big run off the final bend that only just failed to pay dividends.

The Monarchs have battled hard all season, and in the league fixture between these two side they pulled back a big Rebels lead to eventually lose by only four points, so their fighting qualities are not in doubt, and they showed it again over the next three heats. With the Rebels now only seven points behind in the race to progress to the final of the play offs, the Monarchs dug deep and shared the next two heats.

Jason Doyle put his two earlier disappointments behind him, and the crowd were treated to the rare sight of Doyle winning his first race of the evening in Heat 10. Doyle lead from the tape rise, to win by a long way, posting the fastest time of the night in the process. Ryan Fisher and Andrew Tully made the better starts of the remainder, and their cause was helped when Brent Werner retired halfway through the final lap.

Jordan Frampton added another win to his tally in Heat 11, but it was the Monarchs who were best away leading off the line, and looking likely to post a 5-1. They had figured with Frampton however, and the Poole based man stuck his front wheel between the two on the first turn, and blasted between Lawson and Sneddon to go from 3rd place to lead off the second bend. Once in front he pulled away, leaving the pair floundering behind. Danny Warwick was chasing the Edinburgh pair when he fell on the first bend of Lap 2 to leave the visitors with a share of the points.

Heat 12 ultimately proved to be a turning point in the match, with the Monarchs dealing a hammer blow to the Rebels quest for the honours, in winning it 1-5. The heat had to be started three times; with first Ryan Fisher jumping at the start, getting the heat called back, and then Brent Werner repeated the offence. It may have been this messing at the start, but for whatever reason the outcome was that Emil Kramer, who had been in top form from the tapes, made his worst gate of the night, finding himself behind Fisher and Sneddon at the first turn. Brent Werner made a better start, but found himself forced out on the first turn, and was shuffled back to the rear. The Rebels could not get back in the heat, and Werner’s plight was compounded when he appeared to drop a chain on the final lap.

The Rebels now had an almost impossible task to pull back 10-points over the final three heats, and they kept on track taking Heat 13 by a 4-2 margin. Jason Doyle was fast away, and led on the opening turn with a wide outside run. He was passed on the back straight by Wethers up his inside, but struck back almost immediately running wide round the outside of the final bend. Jordan Frampton took third, recovering from a slow start to cut inside William Lawson on the third turn.

The Monarchs finally nailed the Rebels cause in Heat 14, as their shared heat brought the challenge to an end. For the record Stephan Katt added his second win of the night with another lightning start to lead all the way, leaving Derek Sneddon and Andrew Tully to fill the minor places.

The nominated heat went to Jason Doyle with another quick starting wide run. Emil Kramer found himself at the rear, but came with a big challenge on the outside of the Monarchs pair at the end of the lap, but could make it stick, and had to follow them home, giving the Monarchs another share of the points.

In the end the two teams had battled hard, as they have done all season, and it is the Monarchs who will go on to challenge either Kings Lynn or Rye House in the Play Off Final, for the ultimate goal of challenging for an Elite League place. For the Rebels there is still the matter of the KO Cup final to focus on, and they will be hoping it is third time lucky having lost out to Kings Lynn in the last two seasons. With their opponents this time being the Workington Comets, the fans are in for an entertaining, and hopefully successful couple of ties over the next week or so. Weather permitting the second leg will be at the Oak Tree Arena on October 17th, with all Rebels fans hoping that they will see the Cup presented to their team to crown the most successful season in Rebels history.

At the end of the meeting the crowd were treated to the sight of Ritchie Hawkins taking his first ride back on the bike after his horrendous crash back in January, which halted his season before it had started. After a couple of understandably tentative laps, his seemed at ease on the bike, and in his final run, he looked totally at home, putting in some smooth, and relatively quick laps.

Somerset = 53
1. Jason Doyle – 1, 2, 3, 3, 3  =  12
2. R/R
3. Emil Kramer – 3, 3, 2*, 3, 1, 0 = 12+1
4. Stephan Katt – 2*, 3, 1*, 2*, 3 = 11+3
5. Jordan Frampton – 3, 1*, 3, 3, 1 = 11+1
6. Danny Warwick (G) – 1, 0, fl, 0 = 1
7. Brent Werner – 3, 1, 2, ret, ret = 6

Edinburgh = 39
1. William Lawson – 0, 0, 1*, 0 = 1+1
2. R/R
3. Ryan Fisher - flx, 4, 3, 2, 3, 1* = 13+1
4. Andrew Tully – 1, 1, 1*, 1*, 2 = 6+2
5. Matthew Wethers – 2, 2, 3, 1, 2, 2 = 12
6. Derek Sneddon – 2, 0, ret, 2, 2*, 1* = 7+2
7. Aaron Summers – 0, 0, 0 = 0