It's a losing start as Bees sting Panthers - Panthers 43, Coventry 47
(KO Cup first round, first leg) SO much for going through the whole season in winning style at the Showground...
(KO Cup first round, first leg)
SO much for going through the whole season in winning style at the Showground...Panthers' personnel have not been frightened about talking up their hopes of home domination during the long winter months, but such talk is left looking very cheap when the city side produce a performance as below-par as this one.
Already, after the first 15 competitive heats of the campaign, their optimistic target of Alwalton invincibility has become a hopeless task.
It started tremendously as Kenneth Bjerre and Ales Dryml teamed up for a maximum and ended rousingly as the pint-sized number one led home Mads Korneliussen for another 5-1.
But in between it was hardly inspiring stuff as the combination of a decent set of visitors and a mis-firing Panthers corps created a recipe for defeat.
The hosts were eventually cooked by a share of the spoils in the penultimate race when Edward Kennett (arguably the best individual performer on show) took the chequered flag – and the reasons for what team boss Trevor Swales dubbed a 'minor setback' are clear.
Panthers didn't win anywhere near enough races (five successes out of 15 heats on home shale – three of which came from Bjerre alone – is a paltry return to say the least).
That's because they left the traps like tortoises too many times and you really don't want to be giving riders of the class of former British champion Chris Harris, Kennett and top-scoring Aussie Rory Schlein a head-start.
Unfortunately that's exactly what happened.
"There were a few little things wrong and they all added up to make a big thing – a defeat," said skipper Niels Kristian Iversen.
"I wasn't happy with my own performance, that's for sure. Things haven't quite come together for me in the two meetings yet and I'll be trying to put that right.
"We struggled with a few bike problems as well and didn't really get out of the starts well. But we know we can go to Coventry and do to them at their place what they did to us."
Panthers' early lead was wiped out by a third heat maximum from Kennett and Olly Allen when Claus Vissing was beset by mechanical trouble, and the hosts spent the majority of the meeting in arrears from then on.
Vissing again ground to a halt as Harris and Ben Barker sandwiched Korneliussen for a 4-2 in heat five as the Bees hit the front for the first time.Panthers did twice fight back to level (courtesy of a 4-2 in heat six and a similar return in a sizzling eighth instalment) but the second half of the show belonged to the visitors.
A magnificent outside swoop from Korneliussen only earned minor honours in heat nine before Coventry stretched their lead in a dramatic finale to heat 11 when Harris pipped Iversen in the shadow of the post.
Teenage debutant Rene Bach bit the dust spectacularly when ploughing into the third-bend air-fence in heat 12 – a real shame after an enterprising paid five-point performance.
The 18 year-old emerged unscathed and Korneliussen ensured no further damage when winning the re-run, but it soon did go from bad to worse when Panthers' main man Bjerre suffered clutch damage at the tapes ahead of heat 13.
He was excluded for not meeting the two minutes and the hosts had to send out reserve Lee Complin who couldn't prevent the concession of a 5-1.
Kennett completed the formalities of a first Coventry success in this part of the world since 2003 before Panthers provided some late cheer for their followers with a final flourish.
Bjerre pulled off a smart swoop around the outside to seize the front while partner Korneliussen (notching double-figures for the second successive Thursday) kept both Schlein and Harris at bay.
And Panthers are not about to give up on this tie. "We are going to kick some ass tomorrow," insisted Vissing late last night.
One would hope Panthers that have also received a boot up the backside.
Next page: Scores and heat resultsSCORES
Panthers
Kenneth Bjerre 11 (3, 3, 2, exc, 3)
Ales Dryml 7+2 (2*, 1, 3, 1*)
Mads Korneliussen 10+1 (1, 2, 2, 3, 2*)
Claus Vissing 2 (ef, ef, 0, 2)
Niels Kristian Iversen 7 (2, 2, 2, 1)
Lee Complin 3+1 (2, 0, 0, 0, 1*)
Rene Bach 3+2 (1*, 1*, 1*, f/exc)
Coventry
Chris Harris 10 (1, 3, 3, 3, 0)
Ben Barker 4 (0, 1, 2, 1)
Olly Allen 6+2 (2*, 3, 0, 1*0
Edward Kennett 10 (3, 1, 3, 3)
Rory Schlein 11+1 (3, 2, 3, 2*, 1)
Jordan Frampton 6 (3, 0, 1, 2, 0)
Filip Sitera 0 (0, ef, 0)
HEATS
1 - BJERRE (59.4), Dryml, Harris, Barker. 5-1, 5-1.
2 - FRAMPTON (61.6), Complin, Bach, Sitera. 3-3, 8-4.
3 - KENNETT (61.1), Allen, Korneliussen, Vissing (ef). 1-5, 9-9.
4 - SCHLEIN (61.1), Iversen, Bach, Sitera (ef). 3-3, 12-12.
5 - HARRIS (60.6), Korneliussen, Barker, Vissing (ef). 2-4, 14-16.
6 - BJERRE (60.6), Schlein, Dryml, Frampton. 4-2, 18-18.
7 - ALLEN (62.3), Iversen, Kennett, Complin. 2-4, 20-22.
8 - DRYML (63.0), Barker, Bach, Sitera. 4-2, 24-24.
9 - SCHLEIN (61.9), Korneliussen, Frampton, Vissing. 2-4, 26-28.
10 - KENNETT (62.5), Bjerre, Dryml, Allen. 3-3, 29-31.
11 - HARRIS (62.2), Iversen, Barker, Complin. 2-4, 31-35.
12 - re-run - KORNELIUSSEN (63.2), Frampton, Allen, Bach (f/exc). 3-3, 34-38.
13 - HARRIS (62.4), Schlein, Iversen, Complin (Bjerre exc 2mins). 1-5, 35-43.
14 - KENNETT (63.2), Vissing, Complin, Frampton. 3-3, 38-46.
15 - BJERRE (62.7), Korneliussen, Schlein, Harris. 5-1, 43-47.
Key: * = paid points, exc = excluded, f/exc = fell and excluded, ef = engine failure.
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Weather for Peterborough
Friday 19 March 2010
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