Edinburgh Monarchs Academy started off life in fine fashion thanks to a 50-40 home win over Belle Vue Colts at Armadale Stadium.
It was a debut win for the club - who took over Armadale Devils’ place in the National Development League and aim to develop a closer bond with the senior Monarchs outfit.
And it wasn’t only the Colts that were beaten on an entertaining night as a heavy pre-match downpour had the ground staff hard at work.
That made for a tricky track but home gaffer Scott Wilson admitted he was delighted with his side, commenting: “We certainly could have done without that rain storm but in the end I could hardly have wished for a better outcome.
“Adam Roynon showed what a capture he is on a 6-point average, and both Kyle Bickley and Jacob Hook were very good and should start building confidence for their Championship outings for Monarchs, which is what we are hoping for.”
The three heat leaders for the Academy were in fine form as they totalled 37 points alongside nine heat wins and remained unbeaten until heat 11 when Colts’ no.7 Freddy Hodder outgated Hook and stayed ahead for the victory.
Despite the dominance of the top three, they still needed assistance from the back-ups with Alex Spooner being the pick of the bunch. He picked up a paid seven points while Kyran Lyden started brightly with a pair of second places.
The Academy got their noses in front from the off and never trailed as Bickley and Mickie Simpson teamed up for a 4-2 in the opening heat.
Colts did answer back immediately but the hosts promptly took back the lead with Adam Roynon taking the heat three win to open up a two-point advantage while Hook and Lyden bagged a 5-1 in heat four with Edinburgh’s advantage never really being threatened after that.
Successive 4-2s for the guests in heats 11 and 12 cut the deficit to six points only for Bickley and Hook to dash any Belle Vue comeback hopes with a 5-1 in heat 13.
The Academy are next in action on Friday, May 5 when they welcome Kent Kings to West Lothian while the Monarchs have a home-and-away weekend coming up against the Berwick Bandits.
Armadale Stadium hosts the first clash on Friday night (7.30pm start) before Edinburgh travel to the Borders the following day.
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