LEIGH ADAMS registered 17 points to once again top-score for the Robins as they went down to a 50-45 loss in a pulsating Elite League encounter at Lakeside on Friday night.
Friday 4 April 2008
LAKESIDE HAMMERS 50 SWINDON ROBINS 45
Sky Sports Elite League ‘A’
AFTER falling 14 points in arrears at one stage, Swindon produced a spirited fight-back to lose out narrowly in the end.
Aside from Adams’ brilliance, the Robins were also well-served by Mads Korneliussen, who continued his sparkling run of form to notch a hefty 14+1 points.
The opening heat saw Adams suffer his only defeat of the night, when he was unable to catch fellow Aussie Davey Watt, who was guesting in place of the injured Andreas Jonsson. Meanwhile, Leigh Lanham’s third place put the homesters 4-2 ahead.
Lubos Tomicek produced a great ride in heat two, coming through from the back to join team-mate Ricky Kling on a 5-1.
Following a shared heat three, the next race saw Tomicek again carve through the Robins to join Jonas Davidsson on a ‘fiver’.
Adams claimed his first win of the evening in heat five, before the Hammers turned up the heat courtesy of another 5-1 via Watt and Lanham.
Korneliussen gained 4 points from a tactical ride in heat seven, although Davidsson’s win kept Swindon 12 points adrift of the Hammers.
Cue Adams on a tactical substitute ride and the Sultan of Slide didn’t disappoint, overcoming his 15-metre handicap to cut past Tomicek in mid-race, before passing Lanham on the last lap for a fabulous victory.
Lakeside hit back immediately, though, as Adam Shields and Joonas Kylmakorpi raced away to a 5-1, giving their side a 13-point advantage.
The Robins had the better of the latter stages and, although they were never in a position to seriously threaten the Hammers, a final race maximum from Troy Batchelor and Korneliussen brought them to within 5 points.
Once again, there were very encouraging signs from the new-look Swindon septet, which bodes well for the many challenges that lie ahead this term.
HEAT DETAILS COURTESY OF RITA POOLE
MATCH SUMMARY BY ROBERT BAMFORD
