King's Lynn Stars' first meeting on the continent for 15 years ended in agony as they narrowly missed out on a third-placed finish at the World Speedway League.
Rob Lyon's troops battled bravely all night – despite being the big underdogs in the four-team competition – and looked set to bring a medal back to England. However, their six-point advantage over Danish outfit Holsted with four heats to go, was hauled back to set up a thrilling last-heat decider.
And unfortunately for the men from Saddlebow Road their former rider Nicki Pedersen pushed guest Piotr Protasiewicz right out towards the fence and eventually crossed the line three places ahead of the Stars' temporary ace to help his men snatch the final place on the podium.
Swedish club Vetlanda won the meeting after scoring two points more than the Polish hosts Gorzow.
Final score: Vetlanda 36, Gorzow 34, Holsted 26, Lynn 24
- To read the full report from tonight's meeting – and see more pictures from Ian Burt – see Monday's paper.
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