It started disappointingly, it progressed excitingly and it ended happily – that was last night at Panthers.

The eaglerly-anticipated clash of the titans between the club's 2006 Elite League title heroes Ryan Sullivan and Hans Andersen never materialised (much to the disappointment of many supporters in the near 3,000 crowd) but a more-than-welcome, morale-boosting home success for the new-look city side did.

The return of prodigal son Sullivan (to borrow a description from Panthers team manager Trevor Swales) undoubtedly tempted many stay-away supporters back to the Showground, but it was the possibility of seeing the new leader cross swords with departed predecessor Andersen that really whetted the appetite.

But the blue touch-paper remained unlit as Panthers objected to Andersen being included in the Bees line-up as they did not meet the three-day deadline with their new team declaration. And, despite the Coventry side complete with Andersen initially being cleared, protests from Peterborough ensured a U-turn yesterday.

While Andersen was present at Alwalton, he was reduced to the role of spectator rather than crowd-pleasing racer - and Coventry had to hurriedly recall axed rider Rory Schlein (a man rumoured to be bound for Ipswich) to race for them one last time.

It was a messy set of circumstances that didn't help the image of a sport all-too-often accused of being nonsensical by its many knockers, and robbed this crucial clash of one of its most mouthwatering ingredients.

Andersen remained tight-lipped on the situation but Coventry owner Allen Trump voiced his disapproval at the BSPA management committee decision. Meeting referee Tony Steele was informed late in the afternoon that Andersen could not ride.

Trump said: "I was very disappointed in this ruling as we had previously been given the okay to use Hans. He was here with his bikes, ready to go, and at literally the last minute we were informed that we couldn't use him."

Sullivan's fourth spell as a Panthers rider suffered a somewhat botched take-off in the opener as he found himself marooned at the rear as Bees boys Olly Allen and Chris Harris opened proceedings with a 5-1. But the new Panthers skipper soon began to live up to his famous 'Flyin' monicker.

The Aussie racked up four heat successes to pocket 12 points and prove he still has what it takes to be a big hit around the Alwalton venue he adores.

"I missed the start in heat one," admitted Sullivan. "Coming off gate four is not easy in the first race and I couldn't make any headway because I was getting covered in stones. But it was great to get winning races around here again."