NEW boss Jason Attwood suffered a losing start to his reign as Peterborough team manager tonight – but he took positives from it.
The ‘T Balfe Construction’ Panthers slipped to a third successive Premier League defeat when being beaten 52-40 at Plymouth.
Once again they provided only two race-winners and claimed just three heat advantages – one of which involved a tactical ride.
The other two both featured reserve star Tom Perry, who delivered a terrific paid 14-point haul. He followed in skipper Ulrich Ostergaard for a 5-1 in heat 11 and then occupied the same spot as Michael Palm Toft took the chequered flag in heat 14.
But Peterborough were dealt a blow by the loss of Nikolaj Busk Jakobsen, who was withdrawn following a nasty heat 10 tangle with unbeaten Plymouth guest Kevin Doolan.
Attwood said: “Put it this way - I’ve felt a lot more down leaving meetings at Plymouth in the past than I do tonight.
“A lot of teams will come unstuck down there this season. They have a strong side who ride their own track well.
“Tom was the stand-out rider for us, but I can’t fault the effort from any of the guys. They all worked hard on and off the track to try to get things right.
“It super-slick and eight of the 15 heats were won from the inside gate.
“We just didn’t show quite enough mettle until it was too late and losing Nikolaj deflated us a bit as he was riding well.
“It’s not rocket science - we’re not winning enough races or getting enough advantages, but it’s something we can put right.”
Peterborough were left playing catch-up after conceding advantages in four of the opening six races.
Attwood responded by deploying Busk Jakobsen on a tactical ride in a re-run seventh instalment, but the Dane could not trouble Plymouth man Sam Simota as Peterborough had to settle for a 5-3.
Another hat-trick of advantages from the hosts followed, culminating in an awarded 10th contest after Busk Jakobsen was excluded for being the cause of the crash with Doolan.
Peterborough did hit back when Ostergaard and Perry were awarded a 5-1 in heat 11 after Stefan Nielsen hit the deck, but Nielsen was seen to better effect when the hosts responded in kind two races later.
The British youngster and Simon kept Ostergaard at bay in a re-run race after Simon Lambert had been excluded for tumbling in turn two of the initial staging.
Palm Toft and Perry kept Peterborough’s faint hopes of pinching a consolation point alive with a 5-1 in heat 14, but they ended when Dane was then excluded following a spill in the finale.
Peterborough are back in action on Sunday when they host Sheffield at the East of England Showground (5pm).
SCORES
PLYMOUTH: Kevin Doolan (guest) 12, Jack Holder 12, Sam Simota 11+1, Todd Kurtz 10+1, Stefan Nielsen 7, Ellis Perks 0, Rider replacement for Charlie Gjedde.
PETERBOROUGH ‘T BALFE CONSTRUCTION’ PANTHERS: Tom Perry 9+5, Ulrich Ostergaard 9, Michael Palm Toft 8+1, Nikolaj Busk Jakobsen 8, Simon Lambert 6, Emil Grondal 0, Rider replacement for Nicklas Porsing.
