PETERBOROUGH collected another useful away point as they went down narrowly 43-47 at Glasgow on Friday.
The T.Balfe Construction Panthers pushed the Tigers all the way to a last-heat decider with the scores level with one race to go – only for Richie Worrall and Chris Harris to secure a match-clinching 5-1 for the Ashfield side.
But there was still plenty of cause for encouragement for the visitors with Nicholls winning three races, Bradley Wilson-Dean hitting double figures on his return to the club and captain Simon Lambert giving a strong display at reserve.
In fact, prior to Heat 15 there were never more than two points between the sides as they traded the lead on several occasions.
Guest Mikkel B Andersen got Panthers off to a winning start in Heat 1 with Nicholls third, prior to two Glasgow 4-2s with Tom Bacon falling on the first bend of Heat 2, whilst the next race saw Wilson-Dean pounce to catch Paul Starke in the latter stages and snatch second place.
Mechanical trouble for Harris in Heat 4 allowed Lambert to come through and head up a match-levelling 4-2, a situation which was maintained with a shared Heat 5 won convincingly by Nicholls.
And although the Tigers edged back ahead in Heat 6, the Panthers’ response was immediate thanks to maximum points from Wilson-Dean and Palm Toft over Harris in the next to put them two points to the good.
The visitors remained in the lead through two more shared races, Nicholls taking the rider-replacement outing in Heat 9 to good effect, but the Wilson-Dean/Palm Toft combination was outdone by Richie Worrall and Lewis Kerr in Heat 10 as the hosts again turned matters in their favour.
Back came Peterborough with a sweet move by Nicholls on turn three of Heat 11 to get the better of Harris, and a shared Heat 12 saw the sides go into the final three races all-square.
Glasgow edged a 4-2 in Heat 13 with Harris out-front and Nicholls winning a feisty battle with Worrall for second place which led to words after the race.
But Palm Toft came good to win Heat 14 in a Panthers 4-2, Starke saving a maximum reverse for the home side by getting past Lambert on the last lap, leaving the scores level yet again.
It would, however, turn out to be victory for the home side as Harris and Worrall conjured fast starts in Heat 15 to see off Nicholls and Wilson-Dean, and that left Panthers with one point from the meeting.
Boss Carl Johnson said: “It was a good point for us, although I certainly feel we could have ended up with more.
“We wanted at least a point from the meeting and that’s what we got, so we have to be happy overall despite losing out in Heat 15 when they had choice of gates.
“There were some really good performances, Scott and Bradley especially and also Simon chipping in with paid ten, and Tofty got things together at the end, so it was a good team performance in the end and a fully deserved point.
“With just a little bit more it could have been three points, but we’ve scored on the road everywhere we’ve gone, which is exactly what we want to do.
“If we can pick up points with our away form and win the vast majority of our home matches, we’re going to be there or thereabouts.”
The sides meet again at the East of England Arena on Sunday (5pm) with Ellis Perks making his Panthers debut.
CHAMPIONSHIP GLASGOW 47: Chris Harris 10+1, Richie Worrall 10, Claus Vissing 10, Lewis Kerr 8+1, Paul Starke 5+2, Jack Thomas 3, James Sarjeant 1 PETERBOROUGH 43: Scott Nicholls 13, Bradley Wilson Dean 10, Simon Lambert 9+1, Mikkel B Andersen 6+1, Michael Palm Toft 5+1, Tom Bacon 0, Ulrich Ostergaard r/r Championship points: Glasgow 3 Peterborough 1