Friday 1st September 2006 Sky Sports Elite League B
Peterborough Panthers recent good run of form ground to an alarming halt at bottom of the table Arena Essex which has left the bonus point in a precarious but not impossible position to attain with Arena the next visitors to the East of England Showground next Thursday (7th).
Panthers have played with fire in countless meetings in the last month or so giving team after team an early lead. On this occasion the Hammers were in no mood to surrender and indeed heaped the misery on Trevor Swales and his men with eight 5-1’s over the course of the meeting. Panthers were that poor, at times you would have thought it was them who were preparing to receive the wooden spoon come the end of the month and not the Hammers.
There were of course mitigating circumstances that did Panthers cause no favours but until the team start performing form heat one, a result like this is prone to happening and with Reading and Swindon to come at Alwalton it’s a bad habit that the team need to lose very quickly. Ryan Sullivan was again absent with a bout of flu, whilst Piotr Swiderski was racing back in Poland with a prior commitment.
Jesper B Jensen was never going to find it easy, as the tight Purfleet turns are a million miles away from home and match fitness, which will only come with time, may well have cost him a bigger score on a difficult circuit. Throw in a very rare night of mechanical gremlins for Hans Andersen and the picture becomes a bit clearer as to why a Championship chasing Panthers outfit suffered such an embarrassing defeat.
Highlights for the Panthers amongst the 5-1 onslaught included an heat 5 tactical ride by Hans Andersen as Panthers gained a 6-3 advantage over Steve Johnston and Leigh Lanham to reduce the score to 20-13 at that stage. Heat one had seen Andersen and Ostergaard miss the gate completely and subsequently they could find no way past the much improved Max and Henning Bager.
Heat 7 saw an excellent ride from Richard Hall and Niels Kristian Iversen as they gained a 5-1 over Messing and Kylmakorpi who had been excluded for falling in the original staging of the race. Referee Barbara Horley called it spot on, as although the Finn was challenged hard on turn 3 there was no contact whatsoever as he bit the Essex dust.
Two further 5-1’s from the Hammers followed before Hall and Iversen again combined this time for an 8-1 as Hall slowed approaching the finish line to leave his team mate to pick up the double points for a 37-29 score line. The pair combined again for a 4-2 in heat 12 and to be honest without their determination the bonus point would have been well and truly out of sight as Andersen was left to rue rare bike problems, which left him ineffective, again a rarity, on the night.
Hammers wrapped up the win with a further two 5-1’s and a 4-2 to send Panthers home with their tails well and truly between their legs. This is a meeting Panthers should have been looking to win and should have won but instead will be looking to Thursday’s return clash with the Hammers to restore some pride and some faith in the fans that we can do some damage in the play-offs.
Thursday 7th September at 7.30pm has become ‘mission bonus point’ at the East of England Showground and it can be done, as Panthers have shown on countless occasions over the course of the season both home and away.
But we have to start with all guns blazing. And we have to start from heat one.
Arena Essex ‘Duggo’ Hammers 58
1. Mikael Max 3,3,1,2*,3 = 12+1 2. Paul Hurry R/R 3. Steve Johnston 3,2,2*,3,2 = 12+1 4. Leigh Lanham 2*,1*,2*,3 = 8+3 5. Joonas Kylmäkorpi 3, fx,2*,3,2* = 10+1 6. Henning Bager 2*,3,2*,3,0,3,1 = 14+2 7. Andreas Messing ef,1,1,0 = 2
Peterborough Panthers 38
1. Hans Andersen 1,6,1,0 = 8 2. Ulrich Ostergaard 0,1,0,f,exc = 1 3. Ryan Sullivan R/R 4. Niels Kristian Iversen 0,3,6,3,2,0 = 14 5. Jesper B Jensen 2,0,1,1,1 = 5 6. Richard Hall 2,1,2*,1,2*,1,0 = 9+2 7. Jon Armstrong 1*,0,0 = 1+1
