SHEFFIELD’s 2015 season is over after they suffered a 51-38 defeat in the second leg of their Premier League play-off quarter-final tie with Peterborough.
The Window Centre Tigers travelled to the East of England Showground trailing by two points after the first leg, and they were unable to pull off a memorable victory as their title dreams were brought to an end.
Already without influential No.1 Jason Garrity due to injury, guest Kyle Howarth was ruled out after a heavy crash in the opening race of the night.
A trio of Panthers’5-1s in heats four, five and six left Jack Lee’s side well and truly on the back foot – and although middle order duo Nicolai Klindt and Josh Bates battled admirably in an attempt to lead a comeback their superb efforts proved in vein.
Danish star Klindt, who suffered just one defeat from his five rides, admitted they were bitterly disappointed to see their exciting season come to an end.
However, he believes they can be proud of their efforts over the course of the season.
Klindt said: “We tried our best tonight and we didn’t do badly, it was just a shame things didn’t go to plan in the first leg and we were up against it from the start.
“I was really happy with my own performance and it was great to end the season on a high personally, but I would have much rather it helped us get through to the semi-finals.
“It’s always tough when you make the play-offs and then get knocked out, but I think given how long it had been since Sheffield made the play-offs after with all the injuries over the season the club can be proud of how far they came.
“It’s been a great achievement to get this far, and the club have definitely got plenty to build on heading into next year.”
Both Klindt and young gun Bates put in superb performances, combining for 5-1s in heats seven and 10 plus winning the final two races of the night – but they were the only visiting riders to record race wins on what was a tough night.
Andre Compton put in a solid showing at No.2, but David Bellego struggled whilst reserve duo Paco Castagna and Robin Aspegren made minimal impact as both were forced to endure hectic evenings after the withdrawal of Howarth.
It was a disappointing end to what has been an action-packed season for Sheffield, who defied their injury crisis to reach the play-offs before eventually running out of steam.
PETERBOROUGH 51: Michael Palm Toft 12+1, Simon Lambert 12+1, Emil Grondal 11+1, Ben Barker 8+2, Anders Thomsen 8+1, Rafal Konopka 0, Ulrich Ostergaard r/r.
SHEFFIELD 38: Nicolai Klindt 13+1, Josh Bates 10+1, Andre Compton 6, David Bellego 4, Paco Castagna 3+1, Robin Aspegren 2+1, Kyle Howarth 0.
