SWINDON suffered their first home defeat in 35 matches as Poole romped to a comprehensive victory at the Abbey stadium.
The Pirates provided heat winners in nine of the fifteen heats and were led by Krystof Kasprzak who notched up an impressive paid seventeen points haul
Thursday 22nd May
Swindon Robins 39 Poole Pirates 51
A below par Swindon performance was punished by a resurgent Poole side who exploited the Robins’ weaknesses and colleced a deserved twelve point victory.
Alun Rossiter’s men never looked likely to halt the spirited Poole attack and were unable to match the speed and gating prowess of the Dorset side.
The Pirates were brilliantly led by Krzystof Kasprzak whose paid seventeen point haul was excellently acquired. Leigh Adams top scored for Swindon with paid eleven from five rides whilst Mads Korneliussen contributed a typically entertaining ten point haul. Troy Batchelor’s nine point score was also well deserved but a dissapointing combined paid five points from James Wright, Theo Pijper and Travis McGowan proved to be decisive in the overall outcome.
Polish international Krystof Kasprzak collected an impressive victory in the opener as he out gated Leigh Adams and led the Swindon captain down the back straight. Kasprzak repelled persistent pressure from Adams whose attempts to forge a route inside the Poole rider were ultimately unsuccessful. At the rear, James Wright rode an intelligent pits bend to pass Freddie Eriksson in the latter stages and therefore ensure a points share in the opening race.
A second successive points share ensued in race two as Seb Alden showed good speed on his way to collecting a tapes to flag victory whilst the Poole reserving pairing filled the minor placings.
Poole gained the ascendancy in heat three by registering a comfortable 5-1 heat advantage that the Swindon pairing of McGowan and Korneliussen had no answer for.
The Pirates further bolstered their lead with a 4-2 on heat four as the spectacular Davey Watt overcame a spirited early challenge from Troy Batchelor to collect victory whilst Adam Skornicki kept Seb Alden at the rear.
A further 4-2 for the Pirates followed as the mightily impressive Kasprzak collected his third unbeaten score of the night in race five despite coming under pressure from a more lively looking Mads Korneliussen.
Adams and Wright steadied the ship with Swindon’s first heat advantage in race six which narrowed Poole’s advantage to a six point margin.
Batchelor and Pijper notched up a second successive 4-2 in a race seven that saw Magnus Zetterstrom excluded in the initial staging of the race for a first bend fall.
Seb Alden flirted with the Blunsdon dirt line on route to victory in heat eight before Mads Korneliussen ensured a second successicve 3-3 in race nine.
With the Poole lead at four points Adams and Alden gated together in heat ten but a chaotic first corner left Alden marooned at the rear and unable to re-join his captain out front.
Poole continued to pile on the pressure with a 4-2 from Kasprzak and Eriksson in an eventful heat eleven that saw Troy Batchelor execute a fantastic bend three, lap four pass of Kasprzak. However, the tenacious manoeuvre left Batchelor juggling too much speed in the apex of bend four and vulnerable to a cut back with Kasprzak executed with style.
More misery for Swindon followed as Poole further stretched their lead with another 4-2 in heat twelve that extended their lead to eight points.
A positive start to heat thirteen saw Adams and Batchelor hit the front but the Australian pairing both drifted too wide on the exit of turn two which provided the menacing Kasprzak with an opportunity to hit the front. The resultant 3-3 meant Swindon trailed by eight points with two heats remaining, therefore requiring two 5-1 race advantages to snatch a draw.
In a final throw of the dice Alun Rossiter nominated Leigh Adams for a tactical substitute ride in heat fourteen and the Australian lined up from the fifteen metre line. Adams managed to manoeuvre himself into contention but after moving through to second spot suffered an engine failure on the pits bend of lap four which further intensified Swindon’s misery.
Korneliussen rode fantastically in the nominated heat as he romped to victory over the previously undefeated Kasprzak. It was however to little too late for the Robins were left shaking their heads at the eventual thirteen point margin of defeat.
