PETERBOROUGH'S scorechart from this meeting looks remarkably similar to several produced by the Buildbase Bees this time last season.
A scorechart to which every rider contributed with wins, paid wins, second places and, crucially, paid second places.
On only three occasions did a Panthers rider register no points, and one of those was unfortunate when Kenneth Bjerre broke down when on for a 5-1 in Heat 10.
It all meant that the Bees actually found themselves somewhat surprised to have only been beaten by a nine-point margin, with 29 of their 42-point total having come from two riders.
Hans Andersen and Chris Harris won seven races between them, but their 4-2 in Heat 15 was the first genuine heat advantage recorded by the team all night - and that sort of statistic is never going to win an away match.
Peterborough have three home matches remaining, and it is all pointing towards the Bees needing to win at Belle Vue to avoid a relegation play-off battle with Wolverhampton.
On paper they would be favourites to win that - but on paper, they should have had more than one away win this season, and they still have three more opportunities to turn that into a reality.
The tone for the meeting was set in the first three races, all of which were won by Bees riders and all of which were shared at three points apiece.
Andersen did plenty of his work from the back and came from last to first to win Heat 1, rounding Ryan Sullivan on the third bend and then switching inside Karol Zabik into lap two and then holding off an enthusiastic return challenge from the Pole.
There was then a twice re-run Heat 2 after clashes between Zabik and Filip Sitera, the second of which saw Claus Vissing fall on the first bend, but when they finally got going it was a good ride by Sitera to make the start and make no mistakes - but Ben Barker's cut-back did not work out and the Panthers maintained the minor placings.
Heat 3 was one of the better races of the evening with Harris racing wheel-to-wheel with Bjerre in the early stages as the Dane threatened to go between the Bees riders, and then Harris freed himself in second place and moved inside Henning Bager on the third lap to take the win.
But the Panthers' heat advantage arrived in Heat 4 with Vissing making a good start from the inside and the battle being all over second place as Olly Allen fended off Daniel King for almost the entire race distance, just holding on over the finishing line.
Bjerre ensured there would be no maximum return to the Showground for Andersen by winning Heat 5 as the former Peterborough skipper found himself caught in traffic on the first lap, and had to see off Bager's outside challenge at the end of the first lap, by which time his fellow countryman had disappeared into the distance.
A further 4-2 followed in Heat 6 with Allen again involved in a good scrap for second place from Vissing, who had passed Sitera at the end of the first lap.
The four-point Panthers lead was maintained in a tapes-to-flag Heat 7 won by Harris, and then increased by two in Heat 8 as Bjerre made the start and Harris was initially involved in Vissing's battle with Barker. Vissing passed Barker at the end of lap two and Harris then reeled in Bjerre, but not by enough to make a pass and the Panthers led 27-21.
Bees enjoyed a major stroke of fortune in Heat 9 when Bager had ridden superbly to take the lead and engineer a gap for Bjerre to come through too, only for Bjerre to grind to a halt on the second lap and allow Allen and Sitera past to share the points.
But Heat 10 went very much in the Panthers' favour with Sullivan and King both getting the better of Billy Janniro on the first half lap with Harris missing the gate, and by the time the Bees captain had passed his unhappy team-mate, it was race over.
Andersen took the black and white helmet colour for Heat 11 and promptly missed the start, before surging through inside King to take the lead on the third and fourth bends - but a 6-3 was all the Bees could take as Allen had lifted on turn two, and that cost him the chance of challenging either King or Zabik himself.
Harris generated spectacular pace out of turn two to make it around the field on the back straight in Heat 12, but again a 3-3 was the best Bees could manage, and it was a repeat performance in a Heat 13 which was dominated by Andersen after a first-lap challenge from King.
And with Bees seven points down they were left looking for a miracle in Heat 14 - but that didn't happen as Bager and Zabik swept to victory, leaving Ben Barker to pass Janniro for third place at the start of the last lap.
Andersen made it four wins on the night by taking to the outside to pass first Vissing and then Sullivan in Heat 15 with Harris, riding Janniro's machine, overtaking Vissing himself on lap three for third place.
The 4-2 brought Coventry back to a nine point gap at the end of the night, but there was no denying that a team performance had brought the Panthers a thoroughly deserved win, and the Bees must re-group and fast before Thursday's double-header.
