(SPEEDWAY 1)PETERBOROUGH booked their play-off place with an impressive 51-39 win at Lakeside - who are left sweating on their top-four position.The Panthers recovered well from their two home defeats last week, taking the lead with a 5-1 in Heat 3 from Niels-Kristian Iversen and Rory Schlein, and they controlled the meeting thereafter.And a last-race maximum advantage from captain Iversen and Kenneth Bjerre ensured a maximum haul of four Elite League points for the Showground side.Panthers boss Trevor Swales said: "It was a great team performance and we're all happy that our play-off place is finally confirmed."We came here tonight knowing exactly what we needed to do and we've now wrapped it up with one match to spare. We didn't really want to have to carry it over to Thursday at home to Eastbourne and have the worry of something like a rain-off."
(SPEEDWAY 2)COVENTRY'S dramatic charge towards the top four continued with a 53-37 win at Belle Vue - meaning the Bees have closed to within two points of Lakeside.The buoyant Brandon side, now on a run of seven wins in eight, supplied eleven of the fifteen race winners at Kirkmanshulme Lane, with top guns Chris Harris and Krzysztof Kasprzak only beaten in the final heat by Hans Andersen when the points were already safe.The result means the Bees go into their final home match against Poole on Thursday looking for a win to take them above Lakeside, who race at Swindon.Coventry manager Alun Rossiter said: "That was an amazing, professional performance from our boys and I'm really proud of them. Credit to Belle Vue as well given the conditions, but that was one of the very best performances I've seen from a team."We've left it until the last moment, and it goes down to the wire on Thursday against Poole, and what a meeting that's going to be. Brandon has to be crammed for that one, and we have everything to gain." (FIXTURES) TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 7NATIONAL LEAGUE: Isle of Wight v Rye House 7.30WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 8:PREMIER LEAGUE: King's Lynn v Birmingham 7.30 NATIONAL LEAGUE: Dudley v Plymouth (at Birmingham) 7.30pm
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 9:SKY SPORTS ELITE LEAGUE: Coventry v Poole 7.30, Ipswich v Belle Vue 7.30, Peterborough v Eastbourne 7.30, Swindon v Lakeside 7.30 TWEED/TEES TROPHY 2nd leg: Redcar v Berwick 7.30 NORTHERN RIDERS CHAMPIONSHIP: Sheffield 7.45
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 10:PREMIER LEAGUE: Edinburgh v Stoke 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE: Scunthorpe v Newport 7.30CHALLENGE: Weymouth v Bristol 7.15WESTERNAPOLIS: Plymouth 7.30
