Wolves win vital first leg

Wolves took a huge step towards retaining their Elite League status with a 53-37 win at Premier League champions Edinburgh in the first leg of their play-off.

The arriving fans, including seven who had made the trip from the West Midlands by minibus, must have had some doubts as to whether the meeting would go ahead, following three days of continuous rain in the Scottish capital.

Although the pits were waterlogged and the track heavy throughout, the staff worked hard and all 15 heats were completed.

Wolves were in determined mood to prevent an upset, and tore into their opponents from the off, with some fine gating seeing skipper Fredrik Lindgren and a much improved David Howe race to a 5-1 in the first heat.

This set a pattern for the night, with only Ryan Fisher offering any real resistance to the visitors' attack.

Ludvig Lindgren was the only Wolf to fail to trouble the Monarchs. A return of zero was a disappointment for the young Swede following his podium finish in the South Tees Silver Helmet on Thursday, although he did come close to catching Andrew Tully in heat 10.

Heat 8 was much the race of the evening. Following a re-run with all four riders after a first bend incident, Fisher carved ahead of Howe on the back straight, with Monarchs guest Chris Schramm rounding Nicolai Klindt for third on lap two.

Howe then produced a similar manoeuvre to blast around the outside of Fisher for an excellent victory. Fisher was nominated for a tactical ride in heat 12 and pulled clear at the front, only to lose it on the second lap and gift Wolves a third successive 5-1.

Fredrik Lindgren hit the tapes in the next race due to a broken clutch linkage, but reserve replacement Klindt, who had struggled early on on his Armadale debut, teamed up with Jesper B Monberg for another maximum in the re-run.

Monberg was superb on the night, dropping just one point to Fisher, while Howe made a welcome return to form ahead of Monday's second leg at Monmore Green.

James Grieves proved an inspired choice of guest for broken wrist victim Morten Risager, the Scot showing his knowledge of the track en route to an excellent paid 14.

Wolves promoter Chris Van Straaten warned the riders and travelling support that although the side had won on the road, "the job isn't complete yet.

Fans are also reminded that admission prices for Monday's second leg at Monmore are reduced to £8 for adults, £6 for concessions and £2 for children.