Sky Sports Elite League 'B' - Thursday 24th August 2006
Peterborough Panthers managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory on an evening of high drama in Wiltshire. A narrow defeat and a bonus point well within sight for the 2nd leg would have been considered a decent result beforehand. Having said that, being 3 points ahead when racing against one of your fellow play-off challengers with 2 races remaining and to then lose out by the narrowest of margins can only be construed as an opportunity missed.
Panthers have developed a frustrating habit over recent weeks of giving their opponents a healthy lead early on in meetings and this reared its ugly head against the Robins once again last night. This trend which has occurred in 6 of the last 7 meetings will be something that Team Manager Trevor Swales and Promoter Colin Horton will be working on with their riders over the next few days as this could without doubt prove costly in the one-off play-off meetings in late September.
Captain Hans Andersen set the ball rolling for Panthers with an emphatic heat win over Leigh Adams in heat one although Ulrich Ostergaard tailed off badly at the rear to ensure a drawn opening heat. Panthers then lost the next three heats although Richard Hall gave an early indication that he was on the pace with a quick looking heat two effort behind Polish reserve sensation Tomasz Chrzanowski. Niels-Kristian Iversen was excluded in heat three as he lost control in third place and impeded Lee Richardson and then he looked well off the pace in heat 4 as the Robins recorded their first 5-1 of the evening.
Another 3-3 in heat 5 as Hans Andersen easily beat Lee Richardson only stemmed the tide before a Robins 4-2 in heat 6 as Ostergaard once again looked woeful rang the alarm bells that Panthers were in trouble. Just as at Coventry, Panthers made full use of the sports tactical ride facility to get them out of a hole. Niels-Kristian Iversen made a blistering start to signal he was back with a bang and by the time the riders entered the third bend the fast looking Ryan Sullivan had joined him at the front as they inflicted an 8-1 success over Ulamek and Korneliussen.
The best way to follow up a heat win like that is to hit another maximum and Richard Hall and Piotr Swiderski edged Panthers in front with a cracking 5-1 over Rempala and Chrzanowski. Hall was full value for his excellent paid 10 showing and once again heat 8 was a pivotal race as it has been so often in recent weeks.
Two further heats were shared before Panthers edged further in front with a 4-2 from Andersen and Hall over Ulamek. Korneliussen had been left floundering at the tapes with mechanical gremlins as Panthers now led 36-33. Two further 3-3 heats ensued before the heat (14) that swung things back in favour of the Robins. Lee Richardson and Tomasz Chrzanowski scorched to a tapes-to-flag 5-1 over an extremely poor Iversen and a fatigued Hall who had given his all from the reserve berth.
With Leigh Adams to come in heat 15 the majority of the large Panthers contingent feared the worst and this was confirmed with a Hans Andersen victory but a 3-3 shared heat to leave the final scoreline as an agonising 47-46 to Swindon. Sullivan tried everything but the wily Adams protected Lee Richardson every inch of the way to ensure the Robins pinched the two Sky Sports Elite League points on offer in a pulsating advert for British Speedway.
Panthers may have come away with one bonus point from two thrilling meetings at Coventry last Monday and Swindon this evening but they will have won many admirers for the thrilling speedway fayre that they serve up wherever they go at the moment.
