PETERBOROUGH saw another opportunity to make up ground in the Premier League play-off race go begging tonight (Friday).
Two double-figure displays from Danish aces Nicki Barrett and Ulrich Ostergaard were not enough to prevent a 52-38 reverse for the ‘TC Harrison’ Panthers at the hands of Plymouth.
Reserve star Barrett piled up an impressive paid 13 haul at the tiny St Boniface Arena while Ostergaard won two races on his way to 11 points.
Unfortunately one of his victories, in heat 10, arrived when guest Steve Boxall was taking a tactical ride and found himself squeezed out before coming home at the back.
Team boss Carl Johnson said: “It was a cracking meeting and the scoreline doesn’t really reflect how it went.
“Nicki was flying and Ulrich had a very decent night apart from when he didn’t quite look out for Steve in heat 10 and the tactical ride ended up backfiring.
“That could have made a huge difference as we would have been right back in the hunt for at least one league point.
"But Plymouth is always a difficult place to go and we'll dust ourselves down ready for three huge home meetings in the coming days."
Boxall, borrowed for the night from Rye House, had won his previous two outings ahead of the double-points bid that didn’t work out, but no other Panthers man came home in front.
Ales Dryml, who did lead heat six before dropping to third, struggled to make an impact while new recruits Adam Roynon and Max Dilger both endured difficult nights.
Roynon, who had a spell with Plymouth earlier this season, could only manage a couple of third places. Dilger suffered two retirements and finished pointless.
Johnson added: “Adam was always on the pace even though he doesn’t like the place while Max had more than his fair share of bike problems.
“He retired at the tapes in his first ride with ignition trouble and then packed up again in his next outing with a burned out clutch.
“Hopefully that is all the problems out of the way and he can get among the points on Sunday.”
That is when Panthers entertain reigning champions Somerset at the East of England Showground (5pm start).
Berwick and Plymouth both then visit on Tuesday (August 26) for a double-header which gets under way at 7pm.
SCORES:
PLYMOUTH 52: Ben Barker 11+3, Sam Simota 11+1, Kyle Newman 10, Josef Franc 6+1, James Wright 5, Roland Benko 5, Rasmus Jensen 4.
‘TC HARRISON’ PANTHERS 38: Nicki Barrett 12+1, Ulrich Ostergaard 11, Steve Boxall 8+1, Ales Dryml 5, Adam Roynon 2+1, Max Dilger 0, Rider replacement for Lasse Bjerre.