There was a sweet scent of victory for the Hammers who gained revenge for defeat at the hands of the Monarchs two weeks previously with a magnificent fighting display after they lost the services of Sal Clouting.
Their latest recruit had completed just one ride, which he won impressively, before crashing out of the meeting during his next ride.
The former Ipswich rider had been forced wide in a tight, First turn and in attempting to extricate himself, only succeeded in locking-up and piling through the fence.
He was taken to hospital for a thorough examination where investigations revealed much bruising, a dead leg and skin burns.
His enforced departure was compensated by the emergence of talented reserve Barrie Evans, 16, who revelled in the opportunity to take extra rides and gained a fine return of a paid 12 points.
Without Clouting, many would have expected Arena's challenge to buckle, but the Hammers fought determinedly for every point.
Colin White had a trap to line success in the opener although Gary Corbett encountered problems firstly with a flooding carburettor and then a snapped chain which caused him to retire.
Underwood fell in the next as the home side conceded a 2-4 but Jan Pedersen produced an aggressive first turn in heat 3 when taking both opponents wide which allowed Matt Read into third before Clouting collected the next race.
Edinburgh's Robert Eriksson's efforts in heat 5 saw him eclipse Pedersen but White relied on gating technique to win heat 6 as Corbett picked up a point to push Arena into a 19-17 lead.
The visitors levelled immediately with a 4-2, before Corbett won heat 8 as the two sides remained locked in close combat at 24-24.
Corbett was instrumental in recapturing the Hammers lead, when he trapped ahead in heat 10 and his partner White quickly tucked in behind to deny the visitors a look-in.
A battling second place by Evans in heat 11 failed to prevent the Scots from reducing the deficit to 34-32, and the youngster repeated the performance in the next after a superb second turn manoeuvre took him inside Kevin Little and Blair Scott to follow Matt Read home for a 5-1.
The loss of Clouting was a blow for the Hammers who were hopeful of taking at least a 12 point margin to Edinburgh for the return leg.
Had he been available for heat 13 on Friday, Arena may have had a few more points to defend but Underwood was out of his depth against Eriksson and Peter Carr who shut out White for a maximum heat win that reduced the score to 40-38.
The Hammers, and Evans in particular responded instantly when he swept around the pits bend in heat 14 to close the door on the Monarchs duo while creating a perfect slot for Pedersen.
The Dane covered his partner and their heat maximum guaranteeda 45-39 match win.
Although Eriksson won the final heat, White and Pedersen teamed up behind to round off the Hammers best performance of the season so far.
The Arena Essex scorers were White 11+1, Corbett 7, Read 6+2, Pedersen 10+2, Clouting 3, Evans 11+1, Underwood 0.
Rain ruins return
EDINBURGH 43
ARENA ESSEX 29
(Premier League Knockout Cup First Round Second Leg)
The return leg at Armadale on Saturday was ruined by heavy rain which eventually saw the abandonment of the meeting after 12 heats although the result of the match stands.
That means the Scots progress to the second round with an 85-77 aggregate victory.
Rain, which had been threatening all evening and by heat 12, was coming down in torrents.
After a track inspection,it was agreed that the meeting could not proceed with the Hammers camp quite satisfied with the referee's decision.
Hammers hammered
GLASGOW TIGERS 59
ARENA ESSEX 31
(Premier League)
The taxing effort of three meetings in three days took it's toll on the Hammers who were well beaten at Ashfield on Sunday.
An abysmal start which saw the Tigers claim three heat maximums and a 4-2 hardly put the visitors in good heart although their spirits were lifted by Colin White and Lee Dicken who respectively gained victories in the next two heats to leave Arena trailing 11-25.
By heat 8 with the score 32-16, team manager Martin Goodwin opted to track a double tactical substitution with the introduction of White and Dicken and initially the gamble looked to have paid dividends as the Hammers gated quickly and ahead of their rivals.
However home rider Richard Juul fell on the turn and a rerun was ordered, and the Tiger made no mistake in the rerun surging to victory as the Hammers tucked in behind him for a 3-3.
White gained some consolation with a heat 11 success during which he became the only rider on the night to beat former World number 2 Les Collins as Gary Corbett grabbed third to record Arena's only heat advantage.
The Arena Essex scorers were C. White 8+1, Corbett 2, M. Read 0, J. Pedersen 10, L:. Dicken 10, B. Evans 1, J. Underwood 0.
Isle of Wight visit Arena tonight (Friday), for a Premier League fixture, commencing at 8pm.
Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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