PETERBOROUGH restored their battered pride – but still came away from Monmore Green pointless.
And to add to the Readypower Panthers problems, skipper Nicki Pedersen ended the night with a leg injury after a last race pile-up that saw the air fence demolished.
The under-fire visitors were in with a real shout of claiming their first Elite League away win of the season but eventually missed out on even a single point, losing 51-38.
A late Wolverhampton revival which saw them claim three maximums in the last six heats put paid to Peterborough’s chances of closing the gap on fourth-placed Lakeside.
After nine heats the Panthers, brilliant led by Troy Batchelor, actually led by a single point.
But another struggling display from Norbert Kosciuch ands fellow Pole Kacper Gomolski ended hopes of a long-awaited win.
The more experienced Kosciuch failed to score a point while the teenager beat Lubos Tomicek in Heat 2 but failed to add to his tally.
It left Batchelor, Nicki Pedersen and, to a lesser degree, Krzysztof Buczkowski, Linus Sundström and reserve Richard Lawson fighting a losing battle.
The real turning point was Heat 10 when Freddie Lindgren and Ty Proctor claimed the first heat maximum of the night, over Sundström and Kosciuch.
And when Premier League double-uppers James Grieves and Ricky Wells picked up another 5-1 in Heat 12 it left the Panthers trailing by seven.
Skipper Pedersen, back at his parent and old home track, was never far from controversy.
Wolves fans bellowed for his exclusion from Heat 11 which had to be re-run twice as riders went down in the first turn.
He then featured in a storming Heat 13 in which the two Panthers gates but were both taken by Lindgren.
And he came off worst in another first turn carve-up in Heat 15 although referee Margaret Vardy once again decided to put all four back in with Nicki clearly aggrieved at Lindgren’s forcefulness.
The second attempt to run the race also ended in mayhem – and this time Nicki needed medical attention after he and Lindgren went into the fence in a horrifying accident.
Team boss Trevor Swales had to bring in Sundström as Nicki’s replacement and there must be serious doubts as to whether he will be fit enough to take his place in the line-up at Poole on Wednesday night.
WOLVERHAMPTON 51: Tai Woffinden 12:1, Fredrik Lindgren 10:1, Ricky Wells 8:2, Peter Karlsson 8, Ty Proctor 6:1, James Grieves 6, Lubos Tomicek 1.