Freak injury setback as Peterborough Panthers pipped in the Premiership by Leicester Lions

The Crendon Panthers so nearly fought back from an eight-point deficit, but lost out to a classy ride from Max Fricke in Heat 15 which secures the points for the visitors.

But it came with them yet again having to operate the injury rider replacement facility, this time for Benjamin Basso, who took one ride in Heat 3 before withdrawing with a hand injury having been hit by a stone.

It was a freak incident and Basso’s remaining rides saw Panthers pick up just one point as the solid-scoring Lions side protected their early advantage.

The home side were up against it as they conceded 5-1s in Heats 1 and 3 to find themselves eight points down early doors, but there was a fine performance from Niels-Kristian Iversen who won his opening two rides as Panthers fought their way back into the contest.

Rising Star Jordan Jenkins took the scalp of Leicester stand-in captain Nick Morris in Heat 4 as Panthers trimmed two points back, and a big 5-1 in Heat 6 from Ben Cook and guest Michael Palm Toft, the latter taking advantage of a slip from Morris, brought the gap back to two points.

Four shared races followed to leave the scores at 29-31 with five races remaining, but the Lions produced an important result in Heat 11 when Fricke and the impressive Justin Sedgmen roared from the start to end Iversen’s unbeaten record.

Boss Rob Lyon responded immediately by deploying Iversen for a tactical substitute ride in Heat 12 and he responded with a win, but Richie Worrall was kept at the back by Jake Allen and Richard Lawson despite his efforts to find a way through.

Leicester moved closer to victory with a 4-2 in Heat 13 as Morris popped up with a win over Iversen whilst Fricke edged out Palm Toft in the battle for third.

But Panthers still set up a grandstand finish with a 5-1 in Heat 14 from Worrall and skipper Hans Andersen, who had to work overtime to defend second place from Allen.

Another 5-1 in Heat 15 would have set up a Super Heat decider and for a time it looked on as Iversen appeared to block Fricke’s run, allowing Palm Toft through into second place, but Fricke made a superb move off turn four to go back around MPT and quickly force his way inside Iversen to clinch the match for the visitors.

Lyon said: “The boys fought hard, and losing Ben Basso cost us. He’s a main player for us, we missed him, and that was the difference in my opinion and it was why we didn’t win the meeting.

“It appears that it was flying shale that took out his knuckle, it’s a strange one really but it’s one of those things, and it was a blow so early on to lose him.

“Apart from that, the boys battled hard – we were inconsistent at times but we’ve been like that all year, and fair play to Leicester, they’re a strong outfit with a proper No.1 and it showed tonight.”

PETERBOROUGH 43: Niels-Kristian Iversen 14, Richie Worrall 8, Hans Andersen 7+3, Michael Palm Toft 6+2, Ben Cook 4+1, Jordan Jenkins 3, Benjamin Basso 1.

LEICESTER 47: Max Fricke 13, Richard Lawson 9+1, Justin Sedgmen 7+2, Jake Allen 7, Nick Morris 5+1, Kyle Howarth 3+2, Dan Thompson 3+1.