Peterborough 57 Wolves 35

Well, that’s that for another year – unless Wolves end up at arguably their least favourite track in the play-offs.

The East of England Showground has rarely been a happy hunting ground for those in black and gold, and last night was no exception.

Wolves plugged away throughout but after a late afternoon downpour extensive remedial work was needed to the track just to get the fixture on at all.

The match began 10 minutes late after staff were forced to rip the top surface off the starting gate area.

Conditions were far from ideal – home star Troy Batchelor confessed “it’s not good” and he had three wins – although matters improved from about halfway point.

So sticky was the shale during the opening races that in heat three fans were treated to the bizarre spectacle of home rider Rory Schlein attempting to chase Nicolai Klindt while kicking out his right leg in a bid to dislodge the loose material.

However, there was some decent action on the big bowl to warm a sparse,  crowd, particularly a series of dramatic outside passes coming off the fourth bend. The best of those saw young Pole Norbert Kosciuch manage to round Klindt – who was on double points – and Matt Wethers in one daring swoop.

And the night concluded with a superb pass and repass scrap between Niels-Kristian Iversen and Wolves skipper Tai Woffinden, the Dane eventually prevailing.

Woffinden had a better night’s racing than his score might suggest, tucking in to protect Ludvig Lindgren in his first race and then becoming the only visiting rider to beat Kenneth Bjerre.

The younger Lindgren continues to grow in poise and certainly doesn’t lack commitment – his howl in the pits after being passed by Krzysztof Buczkowski could be heard 30 yards away – but big brother Fredrik had a nightmare. He swapped bikes after two rides had yielded not a single point and  was at least competitive after that.

With their top gun spiked Wolves were up against it, but when the going gets tough one man you’d always want on your side is Ty Proctor.

The all-action Aussie relished the difficult going, attacking the track with zest throughout and deservedly topping the visitors’ scorechart.

He wouldn’t say no to a post-season trip to the EoES – but Wolves supporters might.