MEETING REPORT: Panthers suffer their first defeat

The city team were beaten 50-40 at Lakeside in their latest Southern Group outing in the SGB Championship.

Panthers were only able to provide four race-winners and claimed just one heat advantage at the tricky Arena Essex Raceway.

But Rathbone was still heartened by the battling qualities of his side as they remained in contention to earn a consolation point until the final contest.

Their chosen duo of top-scorer Ulrich Ostergaard and number one Scott Nicholls needed to claim a 5-1 in heat 15 for that to happen, but a terrific start from Hammers man Nick Morris soon ended their hopes in a 3-3.

Rathbone said: “It’s disappointing to not come away with anything, but I still feel that losing by 10 points at Lakeside is a good effort.

“We took it down to the last few races so it’s frustrating not to get a point, but the pressure is on the other teams in the group.

“We’re quite happy with what we’ve done this week after winning at Ipswich the night before and everything is still positive.

“We work as a team and we fought all the way to the end. We tried all we could to get the 5-1 in the last race and that’s all we can ask of the lads.”

Ostergaard claimed two of Panthers’ four race wins as he defeated the leading Hammers men – Morris and Richard Lawson.

He also inspired their only gain when taking the flag in a 4-2 in a re-run fourth contest by powering past early leader Lawson.

That drew Panthers level after the hosts had bagged a 4-2 in the opener and they responded with another in heat five to ease back into a lead that grew during the remainder of the meeting.

Further 4-2s in heats nine and 10 allowed Panthers to deploy Nicholls as a tactical substitute in place of reserve Tom Bacon in the 11th instalment, but he had to settle for second place behind Lawson in a shared race.

Lakeside produced another burst of back-to-back 4-2s in heat 13 and the penultimate contest before the finale ended in deadlock.

Nicholls provided the best support to Ostergaard with a paid 10-point return, but he is still to claim a race win after three appearances for the club this season.

Fellow winter signing Nike Lunna delivered his best performance to date with a paid nine haul which included a heat three victory. Emil Grondal was the other Panthers man to take the chequered flag in heat eight.

Michael Palm Toft struggled with two last places from four rides at a track where he had been tipped to go well and the same applied to Bacon, who twice brought up the rear in his three outings. Panthers were short of points at reserve as captain Simon Lambert only managed three.

Rathbone added: “One or two of the boys had never been to Lakeside before and a few others hadn’t raced there for a long time.

“Nike was certainly on the pace and Emil was competitive in all his races. He just made a few mistakes that cost him points, but was learning throughout.”

Panthers’ only remaining SGB Championship Shield fixture is at home to Ipswich. The clash is still to be rearranged after being postponed on Easter Sunday.

Therefore the start of the league campaign is next on the city club’s agenda. They face a daunting opening test at reigning champions Sheffield on Thursday (April 12) ahead of a home clash against Redcar on Sunday (April 15).

SCORES

LAKESIDE: Nick Morris 14, Richard Lawson 9, Adam Ellis 8, Zach Wajtknecht 8, Kyle Newman 7, Ben Morley 4+2, Alfie Bowtell 0.

PANTHERS: Ulrich Ostergaard 12, Scott Nicholls 9+1, Nike Lunna 7+2, Emil Grondal 4+1, Michael Palm Toft 4, Simon Lambert 3, Tom Bacon 1+1.