SOMETIMES the scorecharts don't tell the full story of a meeting - but on this occasion they most certainly do!
A different-looking Buildbase Bees team had been beaten 59-35 at the Showground six weeks ago, and on this occasion the margin was one point wider as the Panthers again indicated what a strong side they have become at home.
That said, they had been run much closer lately by both Swindon and Lakeside, so Bees still had to reflect on a meeting when they had been collectively below-par, with the exception of Rory Schlein who would have finished with paid-16 but for a last-bend engine failure in Heat 15.
Where the Panthers have gained the most has been in the transformation of Kenneth Hansen - and it seems almost incredible to consider that their present side includes three of the seven tracked by rock-bottom Wolverhampton for the majority of the 2008 campaign!
For Bees, this may not have been a meeting which presented the potential for points as clearly as did the trip to Eastbourne on Saturday, but to emerge with nothing from the weekend and a heavy defeat on this occasion just underlines the problems which can be associated with making enforced changes - despite what some may choose to believe.
The indications that this was to be a long night were there as early as Heat 1 with Scott Nicholls, who was clearly struggling mechanically, hardly moving off gate three as Niels-Kristian Iversen and Ales Dryml charged off into the distance to record a Peterborough 5-1.
And it was a repeat performance in Heat 2 as Hansen and Claus Vissing had too much power and experience for Josh Auty and Ricky Wells, with Bees immediately up against it - although to be fair to the reserves, even though they didn't beat an opponent, both were much more on the pace by the end of the meeting.
Bees desperately needed a response from their strongest combination, and they got just that in Heat 3 with Schlein and Edward Kennett both making good starts and Schlein working hard to get the better of Henning Bager on the first lap.
But it was the Panthers who moved to the front early in Heat 4 thanks to Kenneth Bjerre and Hansen, leaving Chris Harris chasing hard and splitting the duo by moving inside Hansen on the second lap.
Nicholls made a good start in Heat 5 and must have felt he was on the fast line, but Mads Korneliussen managed to hold the white line at the start of the second lap and found his way through on the inside - one of several moves in which the home riders seemed to be able to do exactly what they wanted, exactly where they wanted, anywhere on the circuit.
Filip Sitera rode well to hold off Bager to protect a 3-3, but the Panthers recorded a 4-2 in Heat 6 when an inspired Dryml rode the boards on turn two to pass Harris, who had been covering off Iversen in the early stages.
Schlein and Kennett were away again in Heat 7, this time ahead of Bjerre, but Schlein was clearly the faster of the two and they became split on the last two laps, although it could easily be argued that the way the Panthers were riding, Bjerre could probably have found a way inside, outside or between the pair had they slowed down too much. As it was, Kennett over-slid slightly off the last bend allowing Bjerre the cut-back chance, and he snatched second place on the line.
The six-point gap predictably became ten in Heat 8 thanks to Dryml and Hansen, and Panthers boss Wayne Swales then made what turned out to be an inspired move to bring Hansen in to replace Bager as Bees played their first tactical ride with Harris.
But the Coventry skipper didn't make a great start and was sent wide on the first bend, finding himself in third place before driving hard inside Hansen at the start of lap two and then pursuing Korneliussen. However, in doing that, the chance was there for Hansen to repeat Harris's own move into lap three, and he did exactly that to leave the tactical ride scoring just one, un-doubled, point.
There was a sense of inevitability about what happened next, with Iversen inflicting Schlein's first defeat in Heat 10 whilst Dryml finally got the better of Kennett in a race-long battle, and another Panthers 4-2 in Heat 11 saw Bjerre round Nicholls out of turn two and Vissing come past Sitera on the third lap.
If there was one race to sum up the meeting, it was Heat 12 which saw Kennett make the start and Wells be in contention on the first bend - but the ultra-confident Hansen shot between everyone coming off turn two to lead, and then with Kennett seemingly on exactly the same line as the leader, Korneliussen found an even faster one on the inside and came through for a 5-1.
Another maximum advantage followed in Heat 13 as Bjerre and Iversen had too much pace for Harris and Nicholls, who retired on the second lap, and that left Bees playing the second tactical ride in Heat 14.
This turned out to be a rare success on the night as Schlein moved Vissing aside on the first bend and covered Bager too, before moving on to a straightforward win with Auty chasing the Panthers pairing home.
But there was to be an unfortunate end for Schlein, who seemed set for a solid second place in Heat 15 until his machine expired on the last bend, which moved Kennett up a position as he just held off Dryml, behind race-winner Bjerre.
The Panthers had been superb, the Bees somewhat less so, and memories of Coventry's early season Knockout Cup win at the Showground - and it was only just over ten weeks ago - all seemed rather distant, with the need now being to re-group during the forthcoming break in fixtures.
