PETERBOROUGH came within a whisker of ending another proud 100 per cent record as they collected a valuable Premier League point on Sunday night.
The ‘T Balfe Construction’ Panthers followed up a fine 48-45 triumph at Sheffield, who were previously unbeaten on home shale, last Thursday with a battling 47-43 reverse against a Workington side yet to taste defeat at Derwent Park.
Peterborough clawed their way back from a 10-point mid-meeting deficit without the aid of a tactical ride to set up a last-heat decider courtesy of a terrific 5-1 from Emil Grondal and Ashley Morris in the penultimate contest.
But number one Craig Cook, who had won his previous four races, and skipper Ulrich Ostergaard were unable to claim the advantage in the finale that would have earned a draw or victory.
Cook saw his maximum hopes ended by fellow World Cup racer Ricky Wells while Ostergaard was relegated to the rear by frequent Panthers guest Kenneth Hansen.
Assistant team manager Carl Johnson said: “It was a good result against a very strong Workington team who have a terrific home record, but we know it could have been so much better.
“There are fine margins between winning a meeting and coming up just short, and the fact we had to carry a couple of riders was probably the difference.
“That’s not something we can afford to do at this stage of the season and we’re constantly looking at ways we can potentially strengthen the team.
“But four points in the space of four days on the road is a pleasing return – and considerably more points than a lot of people expected us to get.
“It’s just a shame we couldn’t get the win at Workington as I think that would almost certainly have clinched our place in the play-offs.”
The first two races ended in deadlock last night thanks to triumphs from Cook and Morris, but Peterborough fell behind when Hansen inspired a Comets 4-2 in heat three.
Their arrears quickly grew to 10 points after conceding two 5-1s in the space of three races, but they dug deep to claw their way back into contention.
Busk Jakobsen won a shared ninth heat before Ostergaard took the flag in a 4-2 in heat 10 which inadvertently scuppered plans to deploy Cook on a tactical ride in heat 11.
That race also ended in a 4-2 before Grondal and Morris’ 5-1 in heat 14 slashed the Peterborough deficit to just two points.
And even though a dramatic comeback bid was foiled by Workington number one Wells in the finale, the Panthers contingent left in possession of a point which keeps them in third spot in the Premier League standings.
They are back in action on Friday (August 5) when they travel to unbeaten table-toppers Somerset for another tough away test.
