TEAM boss Carl Johnson has called for maximum focus as Peterborough bid to clinch an SGB Championship KO Cup quarter-final spot tonight.

The 'T Balfe Construction' Panthers travel to Redcar, 7.30pm, for the conclusion of a preliminary round showdown.

They sank the Bears 49-39 in the opening leg last Sunday at the East of England Showground, but Johnson (pictured) is anxious to ignore the aggregate situation.

Instead, he will set his side the target of extending their winning start to the 2017 campaign to four meetings.

Johnson said: "We couldn't have asked for anymore than winning our first three meetings of the season.

"It's been a terrific start considering we have a revamped team with a lot of new faces.

"The challenge now is to try to keep the run going for as long as possible.

"We know that if we win the meeting at Redcar, we'll go through to the quarter-finals. That's what we'll set out to do. The fact we have a 10-point cushion won't be in our minds.

"Redcar made no secret of the fact they expected to turn us over at the Showground on Sunday. The fact that didn't happen will make them even more determined to turn the tie around at their place.

"It got a bit tasty at times in the first leg, and that may well be the case again tomorrow night, but we need to focus solely on the job at hand.

"We might not be close geographically, but meetings between Peterborough and Redcar are always intense due to the links we have."
Panthers will have to make progress without their leading Sunday scorer, Bradley Wilson-Dean. The New Zealand champion has a fixture clash with top-flight side, Swindon.
Club bosses have turned to Glasgow ace Nike Lunna to stand in as a guest. He has recorded impressive scores at Redcar in the past.
The hosts make two changes to their team following the first leg.
They have drafted in Argentinian racer Fernando Garcia as a short-term replacement for Tobias Busch, who sustained an ankle injury in a fifth-heat crash at the East of England Showground.
And the Bears also have to call on the services of a guest reserve with Josh Bailey stepping in for Ellis Perks, who, like Wilson-Dean, is on duty in the SGB Premiership.


TEAMS
REDCAR: Jonas B. Andersen, Josh Bailey (guest), Ben Barker, Fernando Garcia, Jason Garrity, Richard Hall, Charles Wright.

PETERBOROUGH 'T BALFE CONSTRUCTION' PANTHERS: Tom Bacon, Kenneth Hansen, Jack Holder, Simon Lambert, Nike Lunna (guest), Ulrich Ostergaard, Paul Starke.