SHEFFIELD were denied victory in a last heat decider as they drew 45-45 in the League Cup with Peterborough.
A thrilling encounter played out in front of a bumper Owlerton crowd saw no more than four-points separate the two sides for the entirety of the meeting.
The Tigers looked set to take all three points on offer until Simon Stead's bike packed up when leading Heat 15.
However, while joint team manager Eric Boocock was disappointed to see his side drop two points, he also admitted he felt a draw was a good reflection on the tie.
He said: "It was a great meeting for the supporters between two evenly matched teams and both teams deserved to get something out of the meeting.
"Some could argue we deserved the win and we probably would have if it wasn't for a couple of examples of bad luck; both Simon and Dimitri (Berge) had mechanical problems when winning races but we need to learn from it.
"Our top five were pretty solid but I feel the points at reserve weren't what they should be tonight.
"Richard (Hall) knows he can score more than he did and Nathan (Greaves) had a tough night all-round. But it's still early in the season and I'm sure we'll see much better from them in the next one.
"The team had a good win at Scunthorpe on Sunday, we've got another point here tonight so now we go to Ipswich on Saturday and try and come away with another positive result."
Skipper Stead made an impressive return to league racing after almost a year out through injury. The 33-year-old top scored for the Tigers - and was only denied a paid maximum after being beaten on the run to the line in heat 10 alongside his mechanical problems in heat 15.
Kyle Howarth continued where he left off against Leicester last week as he reached paid double figures once more.
Josh Bates put in a solid showing, including a spectacular blast around the boards to take a vital win and deny the visitors a 5-1 in heat 14.
Guest Ricky Wells picked up two important heat wins on his way to eight points while Dimitri Berge rode even better than his six paid seven suggest.
Richard Hall got his night off to a winning start but struggled thereafter while Nathan Greaves endured a night to forget on a tough night for the youngster.
The Window Centre Tigers head to Ipswich on Saturday, a full preview will be issued on Friday.
SHEFFIELD 45: Simon Stead 10, Kyle Howarth 9+2, Josh Bates 8, Ricky Wells 8, Dimitri Berge 6+1, Richard Hall 4, Nathan Greaves 0.
PETERBOROUGH 45: Ulrich Ostergaard 12, Emil Grondal 8+1, Nikolaj Busk Jakobsen 8, Simon Lambert 5+2, Michael Palm Toft 4+2, Nicklas Porsing 4+2, Tom Perry 4+1.
