Unlucky Scorpions so close to away win

PETERBOROUGH PANTHERS 45 SCUNTHORPE SCORPIONS 44 (PREMIER LEAGUE)

SCUNTHORPE promoter Rob Godfrey was in a philosophical mood, after the FluidAir Power Scorpions suffered an unlucky 44-45 defeat at Peterborough last night (Tuesday).

The Scorpions really got stuck in at the East Of England Showground, and came on strong late in proceedings, with Ryan Douglas and Ashley Birks taking a 5-1 in Heat 12, to level the score at 36-36. Scunthorpe were one bend away from taking a 40-38 lead in Heat 13, only for Lasse Bjerre to pip Thomas Jorgensen in a photo-finish for third place.

A chaotic opening lap on Heat 14 ultimately proved the evening’s decisive moment. Max Dilger and Ulrich Ostergaard trapped, but Birks & Josh Auty moved past Ostergaard on the second bend, and then Dilger suffered an engine failure entering the third bend.

Fortunately, everyone missed the slowing Dilger, but Ostergaard took advantage to thrust back inside Auty on the fourth bend. There was apparent contact, with Auty biting the dust.

Dilger was correctly excluded from the re-run for not being under power, but Auty’s exclusion was more contentious.

Birks, enjoying a fine evening riding in the No 7 berth, had been leading the race at the time of stoppage, but couldn’t stop Ostergaard in the re-run, as the Peterborough Panthers moved a point ahead with a 3-2.

Scunthorpe could have still won the meeting with a 4-2 or 5-1 in Heat 15, but Auty’s bike stopped before the race and he was put back 15-metres for exceeding the time allowance. Panthers’ Ales Dryml eventually won the race ahead of Nicolai Klindt, while Auty gained a point after Ostergaard’s bike packed up, leaving the final scores at just one point apart.

There had been some excellent racing early on, no more so than a 5-1 from Klindt & David Howe in Heat 5 over a hard-chasing Ostergaard, with Howe holding for second place in a near dead-heat.

Godfrey said: “We came here for the point (for losing by less than seven points) and that’s what we got. Anything else was a bonus.

“Who knows, the result of this meeting might end up working in our favour. It might mean we end up finishing fifth in the table, while Peterborough finish sixth, giving us one more racetrack in the play-offs where we would enjoy going if we ended up in the same group as them.

“There’s no doubt that Heat 14 was the turning point. There was contact between Ulrich Ostergaard and Josh (Auty); Josh doesn’t come off on his own.

“But I’m very happy with the way that we’re now riding. After the break of fixtures, we put in a somewhat shaky performance at home to Redcar, but we’ve been excellent since then, and put in some of our best away performances of the season.

“Ash (Birks) has now kicked on, and he’s going to be a real asset down at reserve, just as David was last month, and Thomas and Ryan were before that.”

Scunthorpe entertain Peterborough at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Friday evening (7.30pm), knowing that three points would make it very difficult for either Peterborough or Workington to overhaul them in the Premier League table.

PETERBOROUGH 45: Ales Dryml 14, Adam Roynon 9+1, Ulrich Ostergaard 9+1, Lasse Bjerre 7+3, Richard Hall 3, Max Dilger 2, Nicki Barrett 1.
SCUNTHORPE 44: Ashley Birks 13+1, Nicolai Klindt 9+1, Ryan Douglas 7, Josh Auty 6+3, David Howe 6+1, Thomas Jorgensen 2+1, Tom Perry 1.