CAPTAIN Matthew Wethers was struggling to find something to smile about at Workington Comets, despite guiding his Edinburgh Monarchs side into the Premier League KO Cup semi-finals where they will face Rye House Rockets.
It was only when the Aussie revealed he blew his motor to bits in the first half that one could sympathise and understand the absence of a grin.
Although the Comets triumphed 47-43 in the quarter-final second-leg clash at Derwent Park, Monarchs s
ailed through to the last four 99-81 on aggregate following their massive 22-point win at Armadale on Friday.
Wethers faces a hefty repair bill and said: "My engine is wrecked and I doubt anything is salvageable. It's very disappointing.
"I wasn't even following the scores because of the problems I had but it's nice to reach the semi-finals. We missed out on the KO Cup last season so it would be nice to go all the way and win it this time."
Any chance Workington had of clawing back their large deficit suffered a huge blow in the very first race when captain Kevin Doolan shed a chain while leading Ryan Fisher and Michal Rajkowski, who were the grateful recipients of a 5-1 advantage.
Doolan, in fact, won just two races and it was left to his top-line team-mates Adrian Rymel and Andre Compton to keep home hopes alive. But it was a lost cause to be frank as Monarchs produced a stout rearguard action in defence of their first-leg lead.
Doolan wasn't the only Comet to shed a chain, reserve Justin Sedgmen suffered the same fate in the eighth race and he, too, was leading Fisher at the time. And, once again, Monarchs gained from their hosts' mishap.
Fisher looked unbeatable after winning his first five rides but he came unstuck in the last race when he trailed in last.
The Californian nevertheless did a wheelie after the chequered flag came down – and promptly fell off! It was probably the only bad move he made all evening.
It was Monarchs ace Andrew Tully who won that heat-15 finale, which capped a splendid 13-point haul from six outings.
But Michal Rajkowski, whom many had predicted to score heavily on a track which suits him, only managed four and admitted afterwards: "I had problems with my bike, it didn't have the power.
"I changed my bike for my last ride and it worked better. I like the Workington track but I was too slow and my score was not good."
Not all of the Monarchs managed to shine and mechanical gremlins also affected Aaron Summers.
Summers scored four from the tail-end and said: "I had a few clutch problems to deal with but hopefully I'll be able to sort them out this week.
"It's good to get through to the last four. It was never going to be that easy because Workington have got a pretty good team. But we did the hard work on Friday and everyone just fought for every point. No-one wanted to let the side down.
"The track also caused a few problems as ruts appeared on the first bend. This caught people out and it was dangerous. However, after it was sorted, the surface was good by the end of the meeting."
Asked how Monarchs will fare against Rye House Rockets in the semi-finals, Summers replied: "They did well in the league at Armadale recently so it could be another tough test for us. But we are all going well right now and are hopeful we can make it all the way to the final."
Monarchs were only two points down, 40-38, after heat 13 and their aggregate triumph was already assured.
But they didn't appear to be that fussed about winning the second leg outright as well.
For instance, they could have brought Summers in for Sean Stoddart in heat 14, but Stoddart was allowed to take his fourth ride despite failing to score in his previous three outings.
Doolan, who predicted his team faced an uphill task after their Armadale drubbing, commented: "We simply gave ourselves too much to do and when my chain went in my first ride you sensed it wasn't going to be our night. We never really looked like getting the miracle we needed."
Workington: Rymel 12, Compton 10, Cook 8, Lawson 6, Dolan 6, Sedgmen 5.
Monarchs: Fisher 15, Tully 13, Wethers 7, Rajkowski 4, Summers 4, Stoddart 0.
