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Panthers win 2006 Elite League Grand Final
Hans Andersen is a name famed for producing fairytales. PANTHERS 48 READING 45 (Elite League Grand Final Second Leg – Panthers won 95-94 on aggregate).
Hans Andersen is a name famed for producing fairytales.
PANTHERS 48 READING 45 (Elite League Grand Final Second Leg – Panthers won 95-94 on aggregate).But not even the legendary author could have scripted the circumstances in which the Panthers captain and his band of title-winning sidekicks etched their names into speedway history last night.
Unlikely, unbelievable and unforgettable – they are the descriptions that will forever be used when the fateful night of Monday, October 9 is mentioned.
There appeared more chance of Lord Lucan showing up in the pits than of Panthers grabbing glory as the city side skidded into a 41-31 deficit with just three races to go.
It looked like a hopeless position in which only a miracle would do. But half-an-hour later Panthers were savouring just that - a miraculous sequence of events that turned a decidedly sticky situation into a once-in-a-lifetime, championship-winning experience.
A 5-1 conceded by Niels Kristian Iversen and Ulrich Ostergaard in heat 12 might have looked like a crippling blow, but it did at least provide one very slender silver lining on a fast-blackening Panthers cloud.
It enabled Andersen to race for double points in heat 13 and, rather than be the signal for the city side to admit defeat and accept second best, it was the cue for three unbelievable heats in 30 unforgettable minutes that will have a major bearing on the lives of all those lucky enough to witness them.
Even the eternally optimistic captain captain Andersen admitted to having his doubts when pulling on the black and white helmet colours to chase double points. Alongside him was 'iron man' Richard Hall – a man punching above his weight if ever there was one. The three-point reserve was given the job of taking points off Reading captain Greg Hancock – the second best rider on the planet if World Championship standings are to be believed – and the surprisingly speedy Travis McGowan after regular heat 13 rider Jesper B. Jensen had endured what is best described as a stinker.
It proved to be a season-changing race as a 7-2 return secured by an Andersen victory and a battling Hall third gave hope to the thousands of Panthers fans who had long since crossed every digit possible.
They now knew two back-to-back 5-1 returns would see them snatch the league title from the clutches of defeat in the most electrifying fashion possible.
And heat 13 was just the beginning. By the time a re-run penultimate contest which brought a horror crash, a dislocated and repaired Hall shoulder and another 5-1 from the northern battler and Ryan Sullivan, hope had been replaced by expectation.
It can't happen, can it? Surely Panthers can't turn it around, can they? Is it just meant to be? They were the questions being asked as the wait for the real drama began, but no-one dared offer an answer.
The championship chase boiled down to the very last heat of a very long season, but still, Reading held all the aces as only one result would do for Panthers – a 5-1.
Arguably the greatest Peterborough rider of all-time, Sullivan, and Andersen – a man who may well inherit that title in years to come – knew they would return to pits as either one of two things.
The Panthers pair would be heroes or zeros but, in the heat of the moment, when all around the stadium people were losing their heads, they remained ice cool.
Andersen and Sullivan fought back nerves, ignored the overwhelming pressure of the biggest four laps of their lives and conjured a calculated plan to bring the title back to these parts for the first time this century.
And when they pulled it off within the opening two bends to leave Greg Hancock and his Bulldogs mate Janusz Kolodziej for dead, a sense of disbelief circled the super-charged Showground crowd.
At first the thousands that turned the Alwalton venue into a Grand Final cauldron were reduced to stunned silence.
But then, as Andersen waved his Australian buddy past to concentrate on quashing the threat provided by Hancock, the noise level rose again.
Every successfully-negotiated bend was greeted with deafening cheers, every completed lap brought another eruption from the fans and the swishing of the chequered flag meant the wonderful, wheelie-pulling celebrations could begin.
There are those that will argue that the better side went home holding only runners-up medals – after all Panthers did require three tactical rides during the 30 heats of Grand Final speedway.
But you won't find backers of the 'Red And Black Attack' bothering about such statistics. They just savoured a stunning triumph and partied long into the night.
By the time the booze stopped flowing in the small hours, it was hard to recall the events of hours earlier.
There will be many sore heads among the Panthers heroes on and off the track this morning, but there will certainly never be sore eyes as they watch their adventure over and over again.
Maybe then they will manage to comprehend just what happened or maybe it will always just go down in history as one of those awesome nights.
But certainly nothing like this will ever be seen again.
Photographs are available from our Photos Today website at http://www.photostoday.co.uk/?sitecode=pet.
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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