Swindon’s regular Elite League campaign concluded in dramatic fashion as a combination of injury, dubious refereeing decisions and general misfortune conspired against Alun Rossiter’s side at Coventry.
Despite starting well and nurturing a two point advantage in the early stages, Swindon eventually fell to a nine point defeat and more worryingly lost Seb Alden to a suspected broken collar bone in heat eight.
The Swede had been enjoying a decent night up to that stage and was contributing a useful points haul from the reserve booth until he collided with Oliver Allen on turn two of lap three.
Alden was flung from his machine, hitting the track with alarming ferocity, with James Wright unable to avoid clattering into the Swede’s stricken machine.
Thankfully, Wright escaped the incident largely unscathed but Seb Alden required on track treatment before being transferred to hospital for further checks.
With Alden being forced to withdraw, a mid meeting slump ensued as Swindon conceded three successive 5-1 heat advantages which saw Coventry roar to a commanding sixteen point lead.
Alun Rossiter’s side launched a spirited fightback in the final third of the contest with two well worked tactical rides hauling the Robins back into contention but a shrewd Coventry sextet did enough to repel Swindon’s late charge.
Swindon’s cause wasn’t aided by some sporadic refereeing from Ronnie Allan who harshly chose to exclude Troy Batchelor in a hectic turn one of heat three and then re-instated Chris Harris for a similar incident in heat seven.
Whilst Allan’s decisions didn’t prove pivotal in the overall outcome of the meeting, they did once again pose some serious questions about the standards of referring in Elite league speedway.
The Robins’ score chart was headed by a characteristically professional haul from Leigh Adams who notched fifteen points. James Wright contributed a thoroughly impressive eight point score from a four ride schedule whilst Troy Batchelor endured a difficult evening en route to his seven points.
Jurica Pavlic began the evening in explosive style by brilliantly winning heat three from the hard charging Chris Harris. Pavlic enjoyed a decent night thereafter and went on to acquire a solid paid eight points haul.
The Coventry scorecard was headed by Chris Harris who received praiseworthy support from Hans Andersen and Olly Allen.
The eventual nine point defeat means Swindon finish their regular Elite league campaign with forty one points and are almost certain of an away trip to Lakeside in Monday’s Play Off Semi Final.
