PETERBOROUGH splashed their way back into a play-off spot – to keep their 100% home record intact.
Skipper Niels-Kristian Iversen’s amazing last bend surge from third to first ensured all three points against a battling Ipswich side almost capitalised on their riders’ ‘home track’ advantage.
Despite being without former World Under 21 Champion Robert Miskowiak and Polish reserve Dawid Stachyra, the Witches tracked four riders with close links to the East of England Showground.
And they very nearly forced an upset by claiming a vital away point even though at no points did they ever look like winning.
Peterborough led from the moment Krzysztof Buczkowski celebrated his 24th birthday with a win in Heat 2 and debut-making Linus Eklöf scored his first point for the club.
That lead was stretched to 12 points after six races but an eventual six-point victory to ex-Panther Danny King in heat 10 lifted opposition spirits and a 4-2 in the penultimate race mean Panthers had to at least share the spoils in the final heat to be certain of all three points.
Enter the skipper who, for three laps was in third place and under severe pressure from King but in a dramatic and brave swoop he flew past both partner Kenneth Bjerre and leader Scott Nicholls, who began his professional career with the Panthers, for his first win of the night.
Bjerre, once again on brilliant form, joked: “Puk owes me a point because he robbed me of one!”
Bjerre and Iversen were both double figure scores along with reserve Buczkowski while Troy Batchelor weighed in with another workmanlike performance and Ulrich Østergaard revelled in the heavy, difficult conditions – caused by heavy early evening and then early meeting rain – for his best score of the season.
The meeting was held up for half an hour because of the weather and it only went ahead after several track inspections and the second half Academy Action had to be scrapped.