Wolverhampton Wolves v Peterborough Panthers

Report

WOLVERHAMPTON were 50-40 winners over Peterborough in the first meeting at Monmore Green since the news of their stadium issues for next year.

The home side raced into a 24-12 lead after six heats before being pegged by the Panthers, who again struggled at No.1 as guest Chris Harris suffered machine damage in a Heat 1 crash.

Wolves No.1 Sam Masters walked away from that incident, as did team-mate Ryan Douglas in a spectacular Heat 14 accident, and Masters top-scored with 11+1 whilst Rory Schlein added 10+1.

Guest Nick Morris (13) and skipper Hans Andersen (10+2) were in double figures for the Panthers, who still await their first Premiership points of the season.

Schlein said: “There was a lot of hard racing going on. A few of the boys are a little bit battered and it was an expensive night for some of the lads kit-wise.

“In hindsight, it could’ve been a little bit more but we’ve come out of it a little bit lucky actually as well because some of the accidents were pretty nasty.

“It’s great to get the win and a ten-point lead ahead of the return leg – we do ride their place quite well, so we’ve given ourselves a real chance when we go there too.”

Panthers boss Rob Lyon said: “The boys battled hard, you can’t fault them for effort, and we were hanging on to Wolves’ coat tails throughout the meeting.

“We knew we weren’t going to win it, but these days it’s all about trying to keep it as close as possible for the aggregate point at the other end, which is what we did, and to lose by ten was a credible result really in the circumstances.”

WOLVERHAMPTON 50: Sam Masters 11+1, Rory Schlein 10+1, Scott Nicholls 9, Steve Worrall 7+1, Zach Cook 5, Leon Flint 4+1, Ryan Douglas 4.
PETERBOROUGH 40: Nick Morris 13, Hans Andersen 10+2, Richie Worrall 6+1, Jordan Jenkins 5, Benjamin Basso 4+1, Chris Harris 2+2, Ben Cook 0.

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Photo credit: STEVE FEENEY