PETERBOROUGH saw their four-match winning run come to an end on Saturday night – but team boss Carl Johnson was far from disappointed.
The ‘T Balfe Construction’ Panthers were beaten 51-41 in an SGB Championship clash at Glasgow.
With regular number one Chris Harris racing for Great Britain in the World Cup final and guest Ben Barker dropping out on the morning of the meeting due to illness, Panthers were forced to operate the rider replacement facility at Ashfield.
Despite being a man light they gave a decent account of themselves with Paul Starke and returning skipper Ulrich Ostergaard leading the way.
Both of those riders delivered double-figures displays while reserve Tom Bacon impressed with a useful paid eight.
“There is no disgrace in losing by 10 points at Glasgow when without a number one,” said Johnson. “It was obviously very disappointing to lose Ben as we felt he could be a key man for us at one of his former tracks.
“But the boys still went into the meeting in a positive frame of mind and we gave a decent account of ourselves. There were definitely positives to take from it.
“Starkey was flying again, Ulrich came back from sickness with a very good performance and Tom did ever so well down at reserve.”
Peterborough found themselves six points adrift after just two races, but they battled back onto level terms as Starke excelled.
He led home his skipper for a 5-1 in heat three and then triumphed again when inspiring a 4-2 in the fifth contest.
But Johnson admitted the meeting then got away from Peterborough during the next few races. They conceded two 5-1s and a 4-2 between heats six and 10 as Glasgow eased back into a 10-point advantage.
It was cut slightly when Starke finished second on a tactical ride in heat 12, but a 5-1 from top duo Aaron Summers and Richard Lawson in the next race secured the Tigers’ success.
Peterborough again responded well as Ostergaard took the flag in a 4-2 in the penultimate instalment before home skipper Summers completed a full maximum in a shared finale.
Johnson added: “We started poorly, but quickly got ourselves back into the meeting by drawing level.
“But we just let it get away from us again during that key spell from heat 6 to heat 10 and it is very difficult to come back from a double-figure deficit at a place like Glasgow.
“It’s a shame to see our winning run come to an end, but I’m sure this is only a blip and we’ll look to bounce back next week when we have another busy spell.
“We’ve got three meetings in as many days and we need results in all of them.”
That run begins with a home clash against Sheffield on Friday (July 14) ahead of a long trip to Workington the following night.
Panthers are then back on home shale again on Sunday, July 16 with the first of three meetings in a week against Redcar.
SCORES
GLASGOW: Aaron Summers 15, Richard Lawson 11+1, Nike Lunna 8+2, Richie Worrall 7, Tom Perry 4+1, Jack Smith 3, Dan Bewley 3.
PETERBOROUGH: Paul Starke 13+1, Ulrich Ostergaard 11+2, Jack Holder 7, Tom Bacon 6+2, Bradley Wilson-Dean 4+2, Liam Carr 0, Rider replacement for Chris Harris.