PETERBOROUGH set their Premier League play-off challenge back on track by sinking fellow title-chasers Berwick last night.
The 'T Balfe Construction' Panthers snapped a run of three successive defeats in all competitions with a vital 50-40 triumph at the East of England Showground.
Skipper Ulrich Ostergaard spearheaded a fine all-around performance with a 13-point haul which included four victories, while guest number one Simon Stead added an excellent 11+1.
That duo also provided a fantastic finish with a 5-1 in the finale as Stead snatched second place from Bandits ace Thomas Jorgensen in the last few metres of the race to earn a standing ovation from the Panthers faithful.
Peterborough had wrapped up victory moments earlier when Tom Perry took second spot in a re-run of heat 14 after partner Ashley Morris had crashed out to earn an exclusion.
The short-term recruit was thankfully unscathed after a fine showing in which he starred in two 5-1s and won heat 12 - his first race triumph for the club.
And Morris' reserve partner Tom Stokes won't forget tonight in a hurry as he bagged his first-ever race win at Premier League level in heat two while deputising for the injured Zdenek Holub again.
It all added up to a recipe for success as Peterborough climbed back into second place in the standings.
Captain Ostergaard said: “We all knew we had to do better than we did on Tuesday and in the two KO Cup meetings recently.
“We had a good teamtalk before the meeting and the team spirit was really good all night.
“The track was great – just how we wanted it really - and we did the business on it.
“It felt awesome to be part of such a good performance with every rider scoring points.
“It was important to bounce back and hopefully we gave the fans plenty to shout about.
“We’ve kept ourselves in the mix at the top of the table and now we need to make sure we build on this.”
It was an incredibly tight meeting with eight of the opening nine races ending in deadlock.
The only exception was heat two when Stokes powered to that memorable success with Morris in tow after he had eased past Bandits man Liam Carr.
Berwick halved their arrears in heat 10 when the excellent Theo Pijper – the highest-scoring visiting rider with a dozen points – claimed the scalp of Stead for the second time to inspire a 4-2.
But the response from Peterborough was swift and impressive with Morris sweeping past visiting heat leaders Kevin Doolan and Jorgensen on the opening lap of heat 11 to follow in Ostergaard for a 5-1.
Morris continued to make a big impact by triumphing in a shared 12th contest when keeping Pijper at bay before a Stead success and an Ostergaard third place (his only defeat of the night) earned a 4-2 in heat 13 to leave Panthers on the brink of victory.
They were made to sweat as Morris hit the deck in the penultimate race with Berwick on a 5-1 at the time of the stoppage.
But Perry produced his best ride of the night to split the away pair of race-winner Matthew Wethers and Carr in the re-run to clinch a much-needed success for Panthers.
And they weren’t done there as Ostergaard stormed clear the finale with Stead charging into second spot just in the nick of time to cap a pleasing night in style.
And Stead’s exploits helped to move Panthers to within a point of his table-topping club, Sheffield as the race for play-off spots hots up.
Peterborough are back in Premier League action on Thursday (July 21) when they travel to Ipswich for an East Anglian derby clash.
SCORES
PETERBOROUGH ‘T BALFE CONSTRUCTION’ PANTHERS: Ulrich Ostergaard 13, Simon Stead (guest) 11+1, Nikolaj Busk Jakobsen 8, Ashley Morris 7+2, Emil Grondal 5+2, Tom Perry 3+1, Tom Stokes 3.
BERWICK: Theo Pijper 12, Thomas Jorgensen 10+1, Matt Wethers 8+2, Liam Carr 7+1, Kevin Doolan 3+2, Daniel Gappmaier 0, Rider replacement for Seb Alden.
