Home certainly not sweet

So much for speedway being a sport where teams never lose at home . . .

Panthers slipped to their fifth East of England Showground defeat of the 2016 season last Sunday when being put to the sword by the reigning champions.

Fingers of blame were again pointed at the condition of the Alwalton surface which rapidly became slick er than the home riders desire.

But the most salient point of this one-sided contest was the ability of a 17 year-old visiting reserve to deliver a 10+2 return which matched the combined efforts of four Panthers men.

That youngster, Dan Bewley, looks a serious talent whereas the current city septet looks seriously weak.

Panthers started well enough with a Craig Cook-- inspired 4-2 in the opener but there was an early turning point as a 5-1 advantage became a 4-2 deficit in the space of three-quarters of a lap in heat two.

Ashley Morris hit mechanical problems when leading and retired before Zdenek Holub was unable to prevent Bewley from darting down his inside to hit the front.

That proved to bethe first of four successive Monarchs gains as back-to-back 5-1s followed ahead of a 3-2 to the visitors in a bizarre heat five in which there were only two finishers.

And another Edinburgh 5-1 in heat eight, from Bewley and Mark Riss, carried them 11 points clear and Panthers team boss Carl Johnson immediately deployed skipper Ulrich Ostergaard on a tactical ride.

But he could only manage second spot in a 5-3 outcome which still left Panthers nine points down with six races to go.

And they never looked like salvaging the situation with the Monarchs’ sealing victory with two races to spare.

Ashley Morris leads the way in heat two . . . before retiring with mechanical problems.