Oxford Cheetahs were out of luck as they went down to a last-heat defeat in their Sky Sport Elite League opener against Peterborough Panthers at Oxford Stadium on Friday.

There was drama in heat 9 when Cheetahs Ales Dryml crashed out at the pits bend just as he did when he almost losing his life last July.

The young Czech star, who was competing against brother Lukas, was leading, but disaster struck when he lost control and lifted before hitting the fence hard.

Thankfully, this time he got up and although slightly dazed was none the worse for his mishap.

Cheetahs put on great show following last week's display. The ambition and aggression was there for all to see and with Freddie Eriksson in top form, it augurs well for Cheetahs in the weeks ahead.

Meanwhile, in an explosive start to the meeting Cheetahs could not have wished for a better start as Jensen and Miedzinski romped away to a maximum after Niels-Kristian Iversen bowed out at the second bend.

And then Freddie Eriksson, looking in good shape, easily took the second after coming from third to first with Eric Andersson coming good off the last bend when Richard Hall drifted wide.

Surprisingly 9-3 up after two heats, the Panthers knuckled down as Hans Andersen and Lukas Dryml proved too sharp for Ales Dryml and Steve Johnston.

Skipper Jensen was in inspired form and and was passed and then re-passed Kenneth Bjerre in heat 6 as the teams battled for supremacy with the scores locked at 18-18.

Andersen roared to his second straight win, this time over Protasiewicz.

But an incident in heat 8 had the fans gasping as Eric Andersson diced with danger after Piotr Swiderski came a cropper down the back straight and Andersson, right up his exhaust pipe, was fortunate to zoom through the rider and machine as the Swiderski crashed out.

The race was eventually re-run three times before Eriksson was left to beat lone rival Hall after Andersson was excluded in the second re-run.

Following Ales Dryml's mishap, Jensen was at his best to deny the in-form Andersen, before Protasiewicz and Eriksson slammed in a 5-1 to take the score to 28-31 in the Panthers favour with four heats to go.

Andersen made it 11 points from a possible 12 as he out gated Eriksson, and then Bjerre got first run over Protasiewicz with Jensen at the back, leaving all to play for.

Johnston kept the pot boiling with a superb back-straight pass over Swiderski in their penultimate heat as the team went into the final heat and the points up for grabs.

However, that man Andersen proved Cheetahs undoing as he out gated Protasewicz with Jensen in third to give the Pathers the points, in the final heat, but they knew they had been in a meeting.

Cheetahs team manager Mick Horton was delighted: "We can take a lot of positives from tonight. They may well be the league champions, but we could have won this."

Oxford: Eriksson 11+2, Protasiewicz 11, Jensen 9+1, Johnston 7, Miedzinski 2+1, A Dryml 2, Andersson 1 43 pts.

Peterborough: Andersen 14, Swiderski 11, Bjerre 9, L Dryml 4, Iversen 3, Hall 3, King 2 46 pts.

Heat details Heat 1: (re-run) Jensen, Miedzinski, King, Iversen (f/xc). 60.7 secs.

Heat 2: Eriksson, Swiderski, Andersson, Hall 62.6.

Heat 3: Andersen, L Dryml, A Dryml, Johnston 61.2.

Heat 4: (re-run) Bjerre, Protasiewicz, Hall, Andersson 62.8.

Heat 5: Johnston, Iversen, A Dryml, King 60.9.

Heat 6: Swiderski, Jensen, Bjerre, Miedzinski 61.9 Heat 7: Andersen, Protasiewicz, Eriksson, L Dryml 61.0.

Heat 8: (re-run) Eriksson, Hall, Sweiderski (f/exc), Andersson (exc) 61.5.

Heat 9: (re-run) Swiderski, Bjerre, Johnston, Dryml (f/exc) 61.6.

Heat 10: Jensen, Andersen, L Dryml, Miedzinski 60.8.

Heat 11: Protasiewicz, Eriksson, King, Iversen 61.2.

Heat 12: Andersen, Eriksson, Swiderski, A Dyml 61.0.

Heat 13: Bjerre, Protasiewicz, Iversen, Jensen 61.3.

Heat 14: Johnston, Swiderski, L Dryml, Eriksson 61.7.

Heat 15: Andersen, Protasiewicz, Jensen, Bjerre 61.0.