Tarasenko's talent couldn't save Peterborough Panthers from another defeat

There was plenty of effort on show from the Crendon Panthers, and Tarasenko made a superb first appearance at the venue with 14 points from six rides, but the Aces have a brilliant record around Alwalton and pulled off another win.

This, though, was in no way a repeat of their 20-point triumph from back in April and there were clear signs that Panthers could still give their loyal supporters some reasons to be cheerful over the coming weeks.

And in the final analysis, much of the damage was done in the early stages even before Tarasenko came on track, because the Aces recorded 5-1s in two of the first three races whilst Panthers’ only success was a 4-2 from Hans Andersen and Jordan Jenkins in Heat 2.

However, Tarasenko’s first ride proved a real highlight as he charged to the front from gate four and was joined in second place by Jenkins who took the scalp of Aces skipper Brady Kurtz for a big 5-1 to the home side.

The visitors took a 4-2 in Heat 5 with Benjamin Basso working hard to get the better of Tom Brennan for second place, whilst Ben Cook threw everything at Kurtz in a shared Heat 6 with the Belle Vue man just holding on.

Heat 8 proved a major blow as Cook broke the tapes and was unable to make it through from the 15-metre handicap, and whilst Brennan won for the visitors his team-mate Jake Mulford snatched second from Jenkins on the run to the line.

Panthers boss Rob Lyon responded by bringing Tarasenko into Heat 9 for a tactical substitute outing, and the move paid dividends and he and Basso fought off the challenge of Kurtz to bring the gap back down to four points.

The next two races were shared with the Aces’ Jaimon Lidsey taking his third win of the night in Heat 10, before Tarasenko lowered the colours of British Champion Dan Bewley with a super ride to win Heat 11.

A tremendous Heat 12 saw all four riders lead the race at one stage and Jenkins had the advantage heading into the final lap before incredibly ending up last, whilst Basso beat Lidsey for second place by a whisker, but the Aces inflicted the decisive blow in Heat 13 with a 5-1 from Kurtz and Bewley, the latter passing Niels-Kristian Iversen as Tarasenko this time missed out.

That was effectively job done for the visitors, but Charles Wright made sure by winning a shared Heat 14, before Tarasenko finished on a high for Panthers with a Heat 15 victory whilst Basso split Bewley and Lidsey for a 4-2.

Lyon said: “The riders all gave 100 per cent and they took the fight to Belle Vue, but they are pretty good around our place and they have been for many years.

“It’s very difficult and five race wins tells its own story, but there were positives and obviously Tarasenko has adapted well on his first time round here.

“We just need more race winners, and once we get that maybe we’ll be in the game.”

Panthers are next in action at Sheffield next Monday (July 3) – but before that, there is a very special meeting at the East of England Arena on Sunday (4pm) as the club stages the Farewell event for Ulrich Ostergaard.