SHEFFIELD skipper Simon Stead issued a public apology on behalf of his team in the wake of defeat at Peterborough.

A large group of travelling Tigers fans were left disappointed by a 20-point loss at the East of England Showground tonight (Wednesday) – a fifth successive loss in all competitions.

Stead top-scored with a 10+1 haul boosted by a successful tactical ride in heat 11 while Australian ace Taylor Poole hinted at a return to form with 10 points as he also made the most of a double-points mission in heat eight.

Those two riders had earlier handed Sheffield the perfect start by combining for a 5-1 in the opener, but a series of six successive race advantages from Peterborough cast them adrift as they remain bottom of the Premier League standings.

The tactical triumphs from Poole and Stead did keep Sheffield’s hopes of a first away point alive, but they were dashed in the closing stages as Peterborough produced a powerful finish.

Home number one Ryan Fisher pipped Ty Proctor in a thrilling finish to a brilliant heat 13 as Panthers claimed a 4-2 to secure victory with a couple of races to spare.

Andre Compton was powerless to prevent them sealing all three points when Peterborough captain Ulrich Ostergaard and high-scoring reserve Joe Jacobs both flashed past on their way to a 5-1 in the penultimate race. Another 5-1 over Stead followed in the finale as Ostergaard completed a paid maximum when watching Fisher’s back.

Stead said: “I’m desperately disappointed with the performance we produced.

“We ran into a Peterborough team riding really well, but we were exposed. None of us, myself included, really performed to the level we should be doing.

“The display of Taylor was a positive as he rode a lot more like we expect him to, but overall it wasn’t good enough again.

“I can only apologise to the army of fans who came down to Peterborough to support us.”

Sheffield are back in action when hosting Berwick at Owlerton tomorrow in a Premier League KO Cup tie.

SCORES:

PETERBOROUGH: Ryan Fisher 13, Ulrich Ostergaard 12+3 (paid max), Joe Jacobs 9+1, Lasse Bjerre 9, Ales Dryml 8+1, Lewis Blackbird 4+1, Nicki Barrett 3+1.

SHEFFIELD: Simon Stead 10+1, Taylor Poole 10, Ty Proctor 7, Leigh Lanham 5, Simon Nielsen 4+2, Andre Compton 2, Josh Bates 0.