Peterborough Panthers will face Coventry in the Elite League play-offs but Lakeside fell a point short.

The Hammers missed out on an away bonus point in their 51-44 loss at Swindon as they looked to pip the Bees to the fourth play-off spot.

Coventry's 53-42 home win over first-placed Poole was enough to secure a top-four berth.

Panthers beat Eastbourne 57-36 and will face the Bees in a two-legged semi, as Poole opted to meet Wolverhampton.

The Pirates and Wolves had already secured their fates in first and second respectively after British Speedway had announced that Thursday's meetings would be the cut-off point for deciding the play-off shake-up, despite many teams falling one match short of the 32 for the season.

ELITE LEAGUE PLAY-OFFS Poole Pirates v Wolverhampton Wolves Peterborough Panthers v Coventry Bees

Panthers have turned around their fortunes after looking like they had lost grip on their top-four hopes with a home defeat by Coventry a week ago.

But a storming win at lacklustre Lakeside on Monday, coupled with Thursday's victory, saw them comfortably home.

Jon Cook's Hammers will be the most disappointed after spending much of the first half of the campaign in the Elite League's top three.

But poor form in the business end of the season allowed the Bees to steal a march on the Essex club.

Each leg of the semi-finals will take place on Monday, 13 September and Monday, 20 September.

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