PETERBOROUGH missed the chance to climb into the Premier League play-off places as their patched-up side went down to a 57-35 defeat at Rye House on Wednesday.
Team boss Carl Johnson was quick to admit his ‘TC Harrison’ Panthers outfit – missing three riders and containing two guests – came up short around the tight Hertfordshire turns.
But he was also full of praise the exploits of leading scorer Adam Roynon. The recent signing racked up a tactical ride-boosted paid 13 and received solid support from in-form Ales Dryml who finished on 10.
Johnson said: “Adam has been very impressive since coming into the team. He has looked comfortable and fast in home meetings and this was a cracking performance on the road.
“Adam and Ales were the two stand-out riders for us but guest Thomas Jorgensen’s efforts were also worthy of far more than the paid seven points he managed.
“We knew we were in for a tough night as Rye House have some very strong riders around their own track and we had our top two guys missing.
“We tried hard from start to finish, but we were carrying too many people again and that needs to change.”
Panthers fell behind when guest Jorgensen and Richard Hall were on the receiving end of a 5-1 in heat 3.
They quickly found themselves 10 points adrift but a successful Roynon tactical ride in heat eight earned a 7-2 that pulled them back into contention.
But the hosts quickly took command again with a 5-1 in heat nine being followed by a rare 5-0 in the 10th contest as reserve guest James Sargeant was excluded for leaving the track after Hall had fallen.
And Panthers’ second tactical ride attempt failed to go to plan as Jorgensen suffered a mechanical failure at the start when donning the black and white helmet colours in heat 11.
There was no way back from there for a Panthers team expected to return to full-strength for a trip to high-flying Ipswich tomorrow (Thursday).
SCORES
RYE HOUSE: Jason Garrity 17, Edward Kennett 15, Alex Edberg (guest) 7+2, Steve Boxall 7+2, Oliver Greenwood 6+2, Luke Bowen 5+1, Rider replacement for Anders Mellgren.
‘TC HARRISON’ PANTHERS: Adam Roynon 12+1, Ales Dryml 10, Thomas Jorgensen (guest) 5+2, James Sarjeant (guest) 4, Max Dilger 3+1, Richard Hall 1, Rider replacement for Ulrich Ostergaard.