Swedes make the Speedway final - but only just!
PANTHERS captain Peter Karlsson was left to breathe an almighty sigh of relief after seeing Sweden's passage into the Speedway World Cup Final, to be held in Wroclaw, almost go horribly wrong.
The bespectacled star was the Swedish hero as they clinched World Cup glory in a last heat showdown in 2004, but he was very nearly the villain last night as the reigning champions' place in Sunday's showpiece was almost snatched from their grasp in one of the most dramatic finishes of all-time to an international meeting.
Rousing victories from Andreas Jonsson in heat 23 and the legendary Tony Rickardsson in the next contest allowed the Swedes to seize control of Event Two after a fascinating three-way battle with Australia and Poland on home soil at Eskilstuna.
But more significant was the fact that young Pole Jaroslaw Hampel could only manage third place behind Rickardsson in that penultimate heat, leaving the Poles six points adrift of Sweden after earlier leading at the halfway stage and free to deploy their joker for double points in the 25th and final instalment.
Polish great Tomasz Gollob was deployed in search of a possible half-a-dozen points in the knowledge that he had to take the chequered flag with Karlsson coming home last to force a run-off for the only automatic qualification spot for the final in Wroclaw, Poland on Sunday.
And Karlsson ought to give Aussie ace Leigh Adams a huge pat on the back after he inadvertently saved Sweden's bacon by beating Gollob in a complicated and pulsating last heat as things went pear-shaped for the Panthers talisman.
Karlsson was left stranded at the back after a messy start and could make no impression as Adams, Gollob and German representative Martin Smolinski laid on the race of the night.
Gollob twice nosed ahead in the final couple of laps, only for Adams to slam the door shut on the final bend and do Karlsson a real favour.
Swedish team manager Mats Olsson said: "I told 'PK' just to go out and enjoy himself in the last heat, but that was probably bad advice given what happened!"
Karlsson was the lowest scoring member of the Swedish side with eight points from five rides.
The night began productively with second place behind Hampel in heat four and a smart victory over former Panther Piotr Protasiewicz in the seventh.
Karlsson was unable to make any impression in heat 11 when Australia forced their way back into the meeting thanks to an excellent execution of their joker by Jason Crump, the Swede taking third.
Another Peterborough old boy, Ryan Sullivan, thwarted Karlsson's hopes of another victory as he had to be content with second spot in a re-run 18th heat when Poland's Rune Holta was harshly excluded following some first bend shenanigans.
But Karlsson was still smiling in the end, even if he had been a worried man watching the action unfold in the final heat.