THE Robins went down to a 52-41 defeat in their Craven Shield encounter at Eastbourne on Monday evening, as Captain Fantastic, Leigh Adams, headed their scoring with a magnificent 17 points.
IN their first competitive action of 2008, the Robins slipped to an 11-point defeat at the hands of a highly-rated Eastbourne side.
Swindon made a slow start to the meeting by mustering just 18 points from nine heats, but displayed fantastic team spirit as they acquired 23 points from the remaining six races.
Heat eleven proved instrumental in the sides resurgence, as Leigh Adams and Mads Korneliussen combined for a text-book 8-1 that energized the Swindon camp.
Adams, as ever, headed the Robins’ score-chart with a superb 17-point haul, which saw his colours lowered on just one occasion by an opposing rider.
The brilliant Australian was the only Swindon rider to register a double-figure score but did, however, receive good support from Seb Alden, who showed lashings of speed on route to collecting paid 8 points.
Meanwhile, Mads Korneliussen recovered from point-less rides in his first two outings to notch up paid 7.
Australian Troy Batchelor suffered mechanical problems in his opening race, but showed determination to collect 5 points from his remaining three rides, whilst his compatriot Travis McGowan also notched up an identical tally.
Both James Wright and Theo Pijper struggled to adapt to the Arlington circuit and will be hoping for improved performances in the return leg at Blunsdon on Thursday.
The Eagles were well served by their potent British spearhead of Scott Nicholls and Lee Richardson, both of whom finished the evening on paid 11 points.
Perhaps, most impressive for the East Sussex side was the performance of Aussie youngster Cameron Woodward, who joined Nicholls and Richardson at the top of the score-chart with paid 11 points.
HEAT DETAILS COURTESY OF LEE POOLE
MATCH SUMMARY BY CHRIS SEAWARD
