PATCHED-UP Panthers gave Ipswich an early scare before falling to the inevitable 54-36 defeat at Foxhall.
Boss Carl Johnson spent the bulk of the day plugging gaps in the team with Rogan Tungate missing out through injury and recent signing Jason Garrity had transport issues.
But it didn’t stop the city side making a positive start to the meeting with club icon Ulrich Ostergaard notching a stunning three straight wins early on.
And Scott Nicholls, who raced for the Witches early in his career, enjoyed a good race win to keep the flag flying.
But Ipswich hit their stride including a brilliant last to first move by Cameron Heeps to inspire a series of 5-1 race wins.
But even after the interval guest Luke Becker joined Nicholls for a maximum over Heeps to keep some respectability for Panthers.
Johnson admitted it was a low point in a tough season but vowed to fight until the end with some home meetings on the horizon.
“It was a bad day, but a good night,” said Johnson.
“I don’t like losing but today we were put in an impossible position.
“Fair play to Hans (Andersen) and Ty (Proctor) who text me tonight and it shows how much they care.
“For what was described as a weakened team which we may be fined for, I’m actually quite pleased.
“We had a go and I thank each and every rider, even the boys who failed to score gave it their all and apologised to me afterwards - there was no need for them to do that!
“I’m staying positive, I love this club and we need to stay upbeat because we are back home soon.”
IPSWICH 54: Krystian Pieszczek 11+1, Richard Lawson 9+2, Jake Allen 9, Danny King 8+1, Chris Harris 8, Cameron Heeps 5+2, Edward Kennett 4+2 PETERBOROUGH 36: Scott Nicholls 11+2, Ulrich Ostergaard 9, Luke Becker 8+2, Aaron Summers 8, Nick Agertoft 0, Ben Morley 0, Hans Andersen r/r