PETERBOROUGH continued their push for an Elite League play-off place with a hard-fought victory over league leaders Poole, maintaining their unbeaten record at the East of England Showground.
The Panthers are now undefeated in their last eight home meetings but remain eight points off fourth-placed Belle Vue, with eight matches in hand!
It was a strong team performance from the home side who again had to survive a mid-meeting onslaught, this time stemming from a six-point tactical win for away skipper Davey Watt in Heat Seven after the Panthers had raced in to a ten-point lead after six heats.
That was swiftly followed by a 5-1 for the visitors which reduced the home side's lead to just a solitary point, but the Alwalton men again showed great character to bounce back with two maximum heat advantages to reaffirm a nine-point lead.
Panthers skipper Nicki Pedersen led the way with 12 paid 13 and was joined by Troy Batchelor, who scored the same, while Swede Linus Sundström turned in a man-of-the-match performance with paid-ten.
The Panthers proved too strong for Poole in the middle order where Norbert - in his first meeting in the main body of the team - and Krzysztof Buczkowksi both accrued six points, compared to the five combined for the Poole duo of Dennis Andersson and Jason Doyle.
Man-of-the-match Sundström was pleased to continue his excellent form and to see the Panthers put in another strong home performance. He said: "We knew it was going to be really, really tough and Poole are at the top of the league for a reason, but we fought for it really hard.
"We knew that it was going to be another hard meeting but we got off to a good start and everyone chipped in. I like riding in Heat One, it's nice when you can win your first race and Nicki is good to ride with and we ride well together."
Looking ahead to Wednesdays's Knockout Cup meeting with Coventry, Sundström knows that the Panthers face another stiff test; "Coventry is a good track and they have a strong team, and we know from earlier in the season that they know the quickest way round their track.
"I really enjoy riding in England and I'm looking forward to the challenge, hopefully we get the right result."
The Panthers face a 12 day break after Wednesday's meeting at Brandon (July 6) before entertaining the Lakeside Hammers on Monday July 18, when they will look to carry on with their climb up the Elite League table.