PETERBOROUGH suffered a double injury blow as they went down to a third successive away defeat in the Premier League tonight.
The ‘TC Harrison’ Panthers were unable to follow-up their League Cup, Southern Group triumph at Foxhall on Good Friday in the latest East Anglian derby showdown.
Panthers, already missing skipper Ulrich Ostergaard due to his involvement in the Danish Final, were reduced to a five-man team when Ales Dryml was forced to withdraw following a nasty heat seven tumble.
And top-scorer Lasse Bjerre was then unable to take his place in the re-run of heat 15 after hitting the deck heavily in a second-bend incident on the opening lap of the initial staging.
Panthers had found themselves 10 points adrift by the time Bjerre donned the black and white helmet colours in heat seven, but he successfully completed his double-points mission in the re-run to earn a 6-3.
That was only brief respite though as the hosts piled up the points in the middle section of the meeting. They would have bagged five advantages in the space of six races had Cameron Heeps not tumbled out of third place on the final lap of heat nine – an error which gifted Joe Jacobs a welcome point.
Panthers were 13 points adrift by the time they deployed number one Ryan Fisher on their second tactical ride in heat 11, but he could only take a distant second behind winner Rohan Tungate to earn a 5-3.
Fisher was also left kicking himself after heat 13 when he saw second spot snatched from his grasp by rival number one Richie Worrall on the final lap. Panthers had been on course for a 5-1, which would have catapulted them into contention for a consolation point, with Bjerre storming to an emphatic victory.
Their fate was sealed when reserve duo Jacobs and Oliver Greenwood, who remounted for the second time on the night after an early fall, were powerless to prevent the impressive Heeps and Adam Ellis from taking a 5-1 which clinched all three league points for the hosts.
And there was a painful late twist as Bjerre tumbled in the initial staging of the finale – a race eventually completed with just three riders after his replacement Ryan Fisher had no suitable equipment to compete in the re-run.
‘TC HARRISON’ PANTHERS: Lasse Bjerre 16 (withdrawn), Lewis Blackbird 9+2, Ryan Fisher 7, Joe Jacobs 5+2, Oliver Greenwood 2, Ales Dryml 1+1 (withdrawn), Ulrich Ostergaard R/R.