FOR the second time in five days Ipswich Evening Star Witches threw away a golden chance to record their first Elite League victory of the season.

Mike Bacon

FOR the second time in five days Ipswich Evening Star Witches threw away a golden chance to record their first Elite League victory of the season.

After throwing away a lead at Swindon on Thursday, they did the same here at Peterborough when they had the home team on the rack at the half way stage, leading by six points and looking to have every opportunity to take the points.

So as confidently as they started so dismally they finish and at the end of the day it's points on the board that count and not good efforts.

The Witches, minus Priotr Swiderski and Jarek Hample were well served by Australian Chris Holder, who proved an outstanding guest with an all-action performance.

However, rider replacement for Hample only accrued five points but there was more than just that which hindered the Witches.

With the Witches 27-21 ahead after heat eight, the rot set in in the next with Toby Kroner touching the tapes and starting 15 metres back.

In a heat the Witches would have expected a draw from Robert Miskowiak was passed by Keneth Bjerre as the Panthers began their extraordinary comeback.

Witches skipper Chris Louis desperately held onto second place when he suffered engine problems in the next and it was all level in the 11th heat when Miskowiak went from first to last after getting out of shape and getting a puncture.

As the dirt moved out, so did the Panthers riders, but not the Witches and both Bjerre and Claus Vissing went past Louis as the Panthers took the lead for the first time in heat 12.

Holder crashed after being left little room by the impressive Danny King in heat 13 and that was the meeting as good as over for the visitors with Holder laying in the dirt and the Witches six points down with two races to go.

There was no last-gasp comeback for the visitors who had started so brightly with Holder beating home number one Hans Andersen in the first heat and Louis and the battling Steve Johnston gating to the front in heat three.

When Holder and Miskowiak gained another heat advantage in the fifth the Witches were six points ahead, but from that point on only produced one more race winner through Holder in heat eight and then they let it slip and slip badly.

mike.bacon@archant.co.uk