PETERBOROUGH team boss Carl Johnson has heaped praise on his riders for their best run of the season.
The 'T Balfe Construction' Panthers continued their sizzling SGB Championship surge with a fifth successive league victory ob Saturday night.
They triumphed 48-42 at Workington in their final away fixture of the campaign as captain Ulrich Ostergaard, Chris Harris and reserve Simon Lambert all delivered double-figure contributions.
“We weren’t at our best at Scunthorpe in the KO Cup the previous night," admitted Johnson. "But this was a much better performance and a great way to complete our league fixtures on the road.
“Reeling off five league wins in a row is a terrific effort at any stage of the season. The way the boys have knuckled down and ridden so well lately is very pleasing.
“They could have just gone through the motions with the play-offs beyond them, but they've put together their best winning run of the whole season.
“We want to build momentum to challenge for more trophies and to finish as high as we possibly can in the table.
“We've got ourselves into the semi-finals of the KO Cup and we also now have a chance of snatching fifth spot in the SGB Championship from Redcar.”
But Peterborough are sweating over the fitness of reserve ace Tom Bacon after he was involved in a heat two spill last night.
Bacon withdrew with neck and arm pain after a tangle with James Sarjeant in a re-run of that contest. The home rider was excluded with Peterborough awarded a 5-1 which quickly pulled them back onto level terms.
Further heat advantages followed in the next two races - a Paul Starke-inspired 4-2 in heat three and a Harris/Lambert 5-1 in heat four - as Peterborough eased into the lead.
They stayed there for the remainder of the contest with captain Ostergaard clinching victory when taking the chequered flag in a 4-2 in the penultimate race.
The Danish racer, Harris and Lambert were all paid for 12 points, while Starke bagged paid nine on a night when he won his opening and closing rides.
Guest number one Charles Wright chipped in with a valuable victory in heat 11, but Bradley Wilson-Dean found the going tough with two points.
Johnson added: “Workington is just the sort of big track with plenty of grip that most of our boys like.
“We were confident we could get a result up there and managed it. We got ahead early on and kept ourselves in front.
“Any win on the road is satisfying and this one is no different.”
SCORES:
WORKINGTON: Craig Cook 14, Mason Campton 8+1, Ty Proctor 8, Matt Williamson 7+1, James Sarjeant 3+2, Tom Woolley (guest) 2, Rider replacement for Thomas Jorgensen.
PETERBOROUGH: Chris Harris 11+1, Ulrich Ostergaard 11, Simon Lambert 10+2, Paul Starke 8+1, Charles Wright (guest) 4, Bradley Wilson-Dean 2+1, Tom Bacon 2+1 (withdrawn).