PETERBOROUGH have to pull back a ten point leeway to go through to the Knock Out Cup semi final.
But it could have been even closer but for another controversial refereeing decision as Troy Batchelor was excluded from the last heat after a clash with Rory Schlein.
Even so everything is set up for a titanic scrap at the East of England Showground tonight (Thursday) after the Readypower Panthers went down 40-50 at Belle Vue.
Aces’ boss was furious at Batchelor’s actions claiming: “We mustn’t have that kind of riding in speedway. I’m afraid we’ve lost our number one for tomorrow night.
“It was an unnecessary fall, why did he do it that’s all I have to say. I’m really upset about it, it was really unnecessary.”
But Batchelor hit back and defended his part in the incident, insisting: “It was hard but I didn’t touch him and he didn’t fall off.”
Peterborough must now win by 11 points to book their place in the last four against Lakeside – and Panthers’ manager Trevor Swales is confident of going through.
He said: “I think the score flattered Belle Vue slightly. We’ve re-grouped a little bit tonight and I actually think it was a fairly decent team performance.
“We deserved to be a little bit closer, indeed we led at one stage but that’s the way it goes and we are only halfway through. “We can do it, yes, and we are going to do it.”
Hans Andersen added: “It was alright, unfortunately gate one was a graveyard and the two races I dropped points I was off it.
“You just had no chance of making a start off gate one and I tried to change some things at the end but just couldn’t get close to Charlie.
“It’s looking fairly good but you can see that Belle Vue have the lead so it will be hard for us but it’s a new day and we can definitely turn it round.”
Andersen, back at his old track, quickly showed that he’s remembered the way around Kirkmanshulme Lane.
Outgating new Aces’ number one Schlein, who came from third to second, he held off the Aussie and with fellow Dane Michael Jepsen Jensen claiming a point in his first ride at the Manchester track it was the perfect opener.
And when Dakota North won the second heat it was a good sign that the Panthers were going to fight all the way to prevent the home side taking the 12-point lead their team boss Lynch had demanded.
A second win from Andersen in Heat 5 denied Chris Harris a second successive victory and after six races the sides were tied.
For the first time Belle Vue edged into the lead the following heat with a second win from Charlie Gjedde as Linus Sundström surprisingly lost a place when he was squeezed past by Ricky Kling.
And there were ominous signs that the Aces could mount a revival as they took the first maximum of the night in heat eight to move six points ahead.
Predictably, Batchelor, who scored 16 on his last visit, stemmed the flow of Belle Vue advantages as he claimed his first win of the night after to take his personal tally to seven from three outings.
And a tapes to flag win for Sundström in heat 10 took the Panthers into the interval trailing by six but with a maximum of three Andersen rides to come!
The break certainly didn’t work to Peterborough’s advantage with Gjedde carrying on his superb form and Andersen dropping his first points, forfeiting third place to Ricky Kling although teenager Jensen at least split the home pair.
The lucky break came in the next race, ex-Panther Craig Cook led for three laps but then stopped with a snapped primary chain, gifting a maximum to Buczek and North.
The stroke of misfortune lifted the Panthers’ camp and Andersen provided another boost with a superb victory in Heat 13 to keep the four-point gap with only eight laps of the first leg left.
With the new skipper splitting the home pair in Heat 14 – surprisingly it was his fellow Swede Kling who took the win with Great Britain captain Chris Harris in third – the Panthers went into the last race trailing by half a dozen points.
And that’s when official Margaret Vardy made her crucial decision, ruling that Batchelor had taken Schlein too wide when he passed him coming out of the second bend of lap two.
Schlein clipped the fence and needed first aid treatment on his shoulder but the Aces were able to bring in a replacement and the combination of Gjedde and Harris gained a 5-1.
BELLE VUE 50: Charlie Gjedde 12:2, Rory Schlein 9, Chris Harris 11, Ricky Kling 7, Patrick Hougaard 5:1, Lukasz Jankowski 4:1, Craig Cook 2:1.
PETERBOROUGH 40: Hans Andersen 10, Troy Batchelor 7, Linus Sundström 7, Krzysztof Buczkowski 6:1, Dakota North 5:1, Michael Jepsen Jensen 3, Kacper Gomolski 2.