PETERBOROUGH fell to their heaviest away defeat of the season at Berwick on Saturday – despite a virtuoso showing from No.1 Scott Nicholls.
The former British Champion went unbeaten from six rides for a 17+1 paid maximum at Shielfield Park, but the Bandits otherwise dominated the meeting and collected a 55-35 win.
The hosts underlined their impressive recent home form and became the first team to prevent the T.Balfe Construction Panthers from notching points on the road in the league this season.
Nicholls apart, it was a tough night for the Alwalton outfit, and matters weren’t made easier by Bradley Wilson-Dean and Michael Palm Toft both suffering crashes in the first half of the meeting.
Palm Toft and Simon Lambert were the two other race winners, and a 5-1 from Lambert and Nicholls in Heat 5 briefly cut the gap back to two points with Nicholls battling his way past Jye Etheridge for second place.
But the home side immediately came back with a 5-1 from Kevin Doolan and Aaron Summers in Heat 6, and backed it up with another maximum in the next when Palm Toft fell and was clipped by David Howe.#
A hat-trick of 5-1s was completed in Heat 8 to put Panthers up against it but a tactical substitute win from Nicholls in the ninth saw he and guest Paul Starke team up for a 5-1 to narrow the Bandits’ lead to ten points.
Respite was short-lived, however, as Doolan and Summers notched another maximum in Heat 10.
And although Nicholls completed his sensational individual show with wins in Heats 11, 13 and 15, passing Nikolaj Busk Jakobsen to win the final race, the Bandits confirmed their lower-order domination with 5-1s in Heats 12 and 14.
Panthers boss Carl Johnson said: “We were beaten by the better side on the night, there are no excuses and it’s just a night to put behind us – we go again at Newcastle on Sunday.
“Bradley and Michael both took knocks and Bradley probably shouldn’t have continued, whilst Michael took a whack from David Howe when he fell.
“But I think they should both be okay for Sunday, it’s just a case of getting some rest and then we’ll assess things in the morning.
“Scott was absolutely exceptional, he looked fast and it was a fantastic display especially considering how long it’s been since he last raced here.
“Overall it’s one bad meeting but we’re not about to panic. We move on to Newcastle and look for points there.”
CHAMPIONSHIP BERWICK 55: Nikolaj Busk Jakobsen 12+2, Theo Pijper 9+2, Aaron Summers 9+2, Kevin Doolan 8+2, Jye Etheridge 7, David Howe 6+2, Dany Gappmaier 4+1 PETERBOROUGH 35: Scott Nicholls 17+1, Paul Starke 5+1, Simon Lambert 4, Michael Palm Toft 4, Emil Grondal 3, Bradley Wilson-Dean 1, Tom Bacon 1 Championship points: Berwick 3 Peterborough 0