PETERBOROUGH team boss Carl Johnson branded their defeat at play-off rivals Newcastle tonight as 'embarrassing'.

The 'T Balfe Construction' Panthers crashed to a 59-34 reverse at Brough Park as their hopes of securing a top-six spot were hit.

Peterborough did provide five race-winners in the North-East, but they could only manage one heat advantage against a Diamonds side who boast a 100 per cent record on their own shale.

That arrived when number one Craig Cook successfully completed a tactical ride to triumph in heat 11 to earn six of his 14 points.

Cook took three victories in all with Nikolaj Busk Jakobsen and Ashley Morris the other riders to take the chequered flag. Both of those men contributed seven points.

Zdenek Holub could count himself unfortunate not to taste success in a fourth heat re-run. He led for the opening two laps until being passed by Diamonds man Steve Worrall after losing his steel shoe.

But those exploits were not enough to stop Johnson reading the riot act at the end of a night in which Emil Grondal failed to score, Tom Perry managed only one point and captain Ulrich Ostergaard could provide just two.

Johnson said: "Only Craig and Ashley come out of the meeting with any credit.

"It was an embarrassing performance and I feel sorry for the supporters who travelled up to witness it.

"There was nowhere near enough effort or heart from the majority of the riders.

"We got exactly what we deserved from the meeting . . . absolutely nothing."

The heavy defeat leaves Peterborough in fifth position in the Premier League table - level on points with the two sides above them, Edinburgh and Sheffield.

They possess a four-point buffer over East Anglian rivals Ipswich, who sit immediately below the play-off zone. They also have two meetings in hand on the Witches.

Peterborough face a return clash with Newcastle on Friday (August 26) at the East of England Showground (7.30pm).

That's the first of two home meetings over the Bank Holiday weekend with a Monday (August 29) clash against Redcar (7pm) to follow.

SCORES
NEWCASTLE: Steve Worrall 12+1, Ludvig Lindgren 11+3, Lewis Rose 11+3, Matej Kus 10+1, Victor Palovaara 9+1, Robert Lambert 4+1, Danny Phillips 2+1

PETERBOROUGH 'T BALFE CONSTRUCTION' PANTHERS: Craig Cook 14, Nikolaj Busk Jakobsen 7, Ashley Morris 7, Zdenek Holub 3+1, Ulrich Ostergaard 2+1, Tom Perry 1, Emil Grondal 0