MEETING REPORT: Panthers break the Witches spell

Ulrich Ostergaard won his first three races.

Danish pair Michael Palm Toft and Ulrich Ostergaard both delivered double-figure contributions as the city team snatched a 46-44 victory at Ipswich in a tense SGB Championship Shield showdown.

A 5-1 from another Dane, Emil Grondal, and number one Scott Nicholls in heat 11 proved decisive as it turned a two-point deficit into a two-point advantage that Panthers held during a dramatic conclusion.

Reserve Tom Bacon and Nike Lunna packed the minor places in the next race before Nicholls and Ostergaard tucked in behind top-scoring Ipswich skipper Danny King for another share of the spoils in heat 13.

Panthers found themselves in a tough spot in heat 14 when captain Simon Lambert crashed out of the initial staging before Palm Toft was stuck at the back in the re-run.

But he scythed down the inside of Witches pair Cameron Heeps and Connor Mountain on the second lap to earn victory and keep Panthers ahead going into a final-heat decider.

Ipswich pair King and Rory Schlein initially held a 5-1 in the closing race, but Nicholls forced his way past the latter rider and Palm Toft followed through to seal a super success.

Team boss Carl Johnson said: “We’re over the moon with the win. Our attitude was right from the word go, the boys worked hard and got to grips with the track.

“The 5-1 from Emil and Scott came at a really important time. I said to Ged (owner, Rathbone) that the meeting was there for the taking and the boys did what they needed to do.

“We’re only two meetings into the new season, but we’ve already proved that we shouldn’t ever be written off.”

Panthers had been behind for the opening two thirds of the contest at Foxhall Stadium, but were never more than four points adrift of their hosts.

Ipswich recorded 4-2s in three of the opening five races, but Panthers enjoyed a gain of their own when Bacon triumphed in heat two with Lambert in third.

A Palm Toft triumph inspired another 4-2 for the city men in heat seven as Lunna took third place to reduce their arrears to two points.

They found themselves ahead by the same margin after that 5-1 from Grondal and Nicholls in heat 11 before closing out an eye-catching win against an Ipswich side tipped for honours.

SCORES

IPSWICH: Danny King 14, Rory Schlein 11, Michael Hartel 5+1, Cameron Heeps 5+1, Nico Covatti 5, Connor Mountain 3+1, Danyon Hume 1+1.

PANTHERS: Michael Palm Toft 11+1, Ulrich Ostergaard 10+1, Scott Nicholls 8+1, Emil Grondal 6+1, Tom Bacon 5, Nike Lunna 3+2, Simon Lambert 3.

Panthers are chasing more SGB Championship Shield success tonight when they travel to Lakeside (8pm).

The city team beat the Hammers 46-44 in a season-opening home clash last month and another victory at the Arena Essex Raceway would put them in a great position to advance from the Southern Group.

TEAMS

LAKESIDE: 1 Nick Morris, 2 Ben Morley, 3 Adam Ellis, 4 Kyle Newman, 5 Richard Lawson, 6 Zach Wajtknecht, 7 Alfie Bowtell.

PANTHERS: 1 Scott Nicholls, 2 Emil Grondal, 3 Nike Lunna, 4 Michael Palm Toft, 5 Ulrich Ostergaard, 6 Tom Bacon, 7 Simon Lambert.