MEETING REPORT: Holder stars in Scotland

The Australian star had never won a race in three previous visits to the Peugeot Ashfield Stadium, but he zoomed to four heat triumphs to help the city side bag a 50-40 victory.

It was a third - and arguably best - win on the road during a disappointing league campaign for Panthers – and one which demonstrated they are major contenders for KO Cup honours, where they could again meet Glasgow at the semi-final stage.

“Jack won’t mind me saying he looked like a novice in his first ride,” admitted team boss Carl Johnson.

“He was all over the place and eventually retired, but he got himself sorted really quickly and was untouchable for the rest of the meeting.

“He rode like one of the best young riders in the world and he received some very solid support from the rest of the boys.

“It was an excellent team effort to pick up one of our best results of the season.”

While Holder led the way with a dozen points, it certainly wasn’t a one-man show as Chris Harris also delivered a double-figures score for Panthers.

His paid 11-point haul equalled a 5-1 finish with Holder in heat 15 that put a seal on a fine display.

Reserve Simon Lambert added 8+2 at reserve less than 24 hours after guesting for Glasgow in their Saturday-night win against Redcar at the same venue.

Paul Starke and Ulrich Ostergaard grabbed a race win apiece during solid shifts in the middle order of the Panthers side.

Starke took the chequered flag when they teamed up for a 5-1 in heat 7 – a return which put their side into the lead for the first time.

Skipper Ostergaard’s triumph arrived in a shared penultimate contest and was enough to seal victory overall.

Bradley Wilson-Dean managed four points despite hitting the deck in heat five, while Tom Bacon picked up a couple of valuable third places at reserve to contribute to Panthers’ third successive victory.

“The track was really deep early on and both teams were struggling to ride it,” added Johnson. “Conditions got better as the meeting went on and we rode very well.

“We were quick out of the starts which is always a big advantage on a track with very few racing lines.

“I was confident we could get a result at Glasgow with a full team – and the boys didn’t let me down.”

Panthers are back in action on Friday (September 22) when visiting Scunthorpe for a KO Cup quarter-final second leg - and they will again track a full team in that fixture.

They boast an 18-point advantage on aggregate following the first leg at Alwalton back in June.

SCORES

GLASGOW: Richard Lawson 11, Richie Worrall 10+1, Aaron Summers 8, David Howe (guest) 7+2, Mitchell Davey (guest) 4+1, Ryan MacDonald 0 (guest), Rider replacement for Dan Bewley.

PANTHERS: Jack Holder 12, Chris Harris 10+1, Simon Lambert 8+2, Ulrich Ostergaard 7+1, Paul Starke 7, Bradley Wilson-Dean 4, Tom Bacon 2.