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PETERBOROUGH have gone clear at the top of the early Elite League table after home and away Good Friday wins over Coventry.The Panthers withstood a strong Bees challenge at the Showground in the morning to secure a 50-40 result, thanks to impressive contributions from reserves Krzysztof Buczkowski and Joel Parsons.In the evening it was the Peterborough heat-leaders to the fore with Niels-Kristian Iversen, Kenneth Bjerre and Troy Batchelor all winning three races as the Panthers grabbed a 51-41 win in far from ideal conditions.Coventry were hit by a series of problems with Christian Hefenbrocksuffering ankle ligament damage in the first race of the day, and Edward Kennett missing his last ride at Brandon with a swollen wrist.Panthers boss Trevor Swales said: "The most encouraging thing about ourdouble is that we know we will get more points out of some of the top ridersin future meetings."That's the first time we've ever taken a maximum four points for winning away by more than six and our biggest away win since we won at Ipswich inSeptember, 2007."Elsewhere, Belle Vue took a narrow win over champions Wolverhampton at Kirkmanshulme Lane, Wolves gaining a league point from their 47-43 defeat,whilst Eastbourne and Lakeside finished all-square at Arlington.
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GOOD Friday's Premier Trophy action saw away teams to the fore as Newcastle,Sheffield and Berwick all secured dramatic successes on the road.Newcastle found themselves ten points down after three heats at Edinburgh but battled back and took a 46-44 victory thanks to a last-race 5-1 from Kenni Larsen and Rene Bach.Diamonds boss George English said: "Everyone thought we were well out of it,but this Diamonds side in 2010 is a solid and doggedly determined side andthey have an attitude of grinding out a win wherever they can and tonight they really proved that with the Danish duo absolutely excelling."Sheffield were also comeback kings, with young Australian Hugh Skidmore winning a tactical ride for double-points at Redcar before back-to-back 5-1sin Heats 13 and 14 turned the match conclusively in the Tigers' favour.Winter signing Josef Franc top-scored with 12 and said: "It's a nice feelingto win away from home and I enjoyed it out there. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come for this team."Berwick held a narrow lead for much of their meeting at Workington but adramatic Heat 14 saw two riders disqualified, and that left Michal Makovsky needing to finish second in the last race to secure a one-point win.Bandits co-owner Lynda Waite said: "What a brilliant way to start our official fixtures of the season with this superb win. Anders Andersen hadsome fine moments and weighed in well with good points whilst last season's Comets, Adrian (Rymel) and Craig (Branney) were buoyant with their performances for us tonight."
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THE draw for both British Semi-Finals will take place this week at the staging venues King's Lynn and Sheffield.All 32 riders are now known for the meetings with the top eight from each going into the British Final at Wolverhampton in June.King's Lynn will make the draw for their meeting this Wednesday when theyface Rye House and Sheffield the following night when they race against Scunthorpe.Sheffield owner Neil Machin said: "It's great to see the revival of the British semi-finals, the action is sure to be fast and furious!"
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RYE House are hoping for a packed house when they face Premier League title favourites Birmingham in front of the Sky Sports cameras on Monday (7.30).The Rockets have announced free admission for children and there will also be face painting available inside the stadium.Rockets boss Len Silver said: "We want to see as many yellow and blue faces around the stadium as possible. We want the youngsters to really make some noise and create a big atmosphere in front of the cameras."
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SUNDAY APRIL 4:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v Wolverhampton 4pmPREMIER TROPHY: Birmingham v Scunthorpe 6.30, Glasgow v Newcastle 4pm,Newport v King's Lynn 2.30CHALLENGE: Mildenhall v Team Viking OFF
MONDAY APRIL 5:PREMIER LEAGUE: Rye House v Birmingham 7.30PREMIER TROPHY: Newcastle v Glasgow 3pm, Scunthorpe v Redcar 6pmNATIONAL LEAGUE: Scunthorpe v King's Lynn (follows PT match)CHALLENGE: Isle of Wight v USA Dream Team 7.30, Newport Hornets v Team Viking 1pm
TUESDAY APRIL 6:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Wolverhampton v Belle Vue 7.30
WEDNESDAY APRIL 7:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v Peterborough 7.30PREMIER TROPHY: King's Lynn v Rye House 7.30CHALLENGE: Dudley v USA Dream Team (at Birmingham) 7.30
