The struggling city club was buzzing again after a great few days on and off the track. Berkshire businessman Rick Frost completed his takeover and the riders responded by roaring to a splendid success against Swindon on Monday in their first home meeting since the deal was done and dusted.

Pessimism had been replaced by optimism, hope had succeeded worry and Elite League safety was within reach but . . . and there is always a but.

Like a pin in a balloon, the upbeat mood was popped by the latest in a long line of home setbacks that have left the Alwalton faithful alarmed this year.

This appeared on paper to be one of Panthers' simplest remaining tasks against an Eastbourne outfit who only possess minimal hopes of entering the end-of-season play-off picture, but on the shale of the Showground it proved to be a very different story.

Everything from the track surface to toothache was offered as a reason for the terrible display, but stand-in team manager Wayne Swales quickly dismissed any excuse-making after seeing his 100 per cent record in the hotseat disappear.

"We were beaten by a better team – simple as that," he admitted refreshingly. "It was a complete opposite from what we produced against Swindon on Monday night and that's not good enough."

Skipper Ryan Sullivan (the man with the dental trouble) produced a paltry three points from his five rides with middle-order man Henning Bager pushing him hard for the dis-honour of being the most disappointing performer.

The Dane – the scorer of paid eight points three days earlier – was completely out of sorts, managing only two points and being dropped from his heat nine engagement in favour of reserve Claus Vissing.

The Panthers scorecard that had been a tower of strength on Monday was left littered with last place disappointments – all 11 of them.