Premier League

Peterborough Panthers 39, Somerset Rebels 53

THE Somerset Rebels wrapped up their regular Premier League season in the best possible way, with a stunning 53-39 away win at Peterborough this evening to collect four valuable away league points.

Just how valuable those points were to be was borne out just a few minutes later with the news that Glasgow had gained but a single league point from their away match at Workington, which meant that Somerset were now assured of finishing in second place in the Premier League table and have a bye through to the semi-final round of the Championship deciding play-offs.

Somerset took the lead right from the off with a maximum race win in the opening heat, Brady Kurtz and Rasmus Jensen combining to set the Rebels on their way, it being a lead they were never to, nor look even remotely likely to, relinquish.

A share of the spoils in heat two, with Paul Starke taking the race win for Somerset was followed by Somerset’s second maximum heat win of the night in heat three courtesy of Richie Worrall and Charles Wright, it putting the Rebels into an eight point lead after just three heats.

Somerset skipper Josh Grajczonek took his second race win of the night in heat nine to maintain the status quo as far as the match lead was concerned for the Rebels, who then extended out their lead further with yet another maximum race win in heat 10, Wright and Starke heading home the Panthers duo of Østergaard and Lambert, this after Somerset’s Richie Worrall had been excluded from the initial running of the heat for anticipating the start after being warned for a similar offence earlier in the meeting.

Peterborough’s last throw of the die came in heat 11 with Ben Barker going to the tapes on a double point tactical ride, but the moved failed to produce the result hoped for by the Panthers’ team management as Kurtz took the race win ahead of Barker, and with Jensen picking up the point for 3rd place, it saw the heat shared 4-all.

With the match in the bag, the next three heats were all shared three a-piece to maintain Somerset’s 16 point lead, leaving Peterborough to gain the scant consolation of a 4-2 heat advantage in the final race.