SWINDON fell to a dissapointing twenty three point defeat at the hands of a rampant Poole side. Wednesday 27th August, Sky Sports Elite League 'B'
Poole Pirates 58 Swindon Robins 35
Swindon’s poor 2008 record against Poole continued as the Robins slumped to a twenty three point defeat in front of a bumper crowd at Wimborne Road.
Alun Rossiter’s side trailed throughout the meeting and despite riding with plenty of commitment were unable to compete with the potency of Poole’s in form squad.
Leigh Adams topped the Swindon score chart with a fourteen point haul that included a tactical ride victory in heat eleven. The Robins’ captain dropped his only point of the night in heat one when Poole’s talented number one Chris Holder blasted to victory.
Jurica Pavlic provided Adams with solid support and the Croatian youngster certainly deserved more than his eventual nine point haul. Once again Pavlic was involved in an array of superb racing and was on the pace throughout the course of the evening.
Troy Batchelor notched seven points whilst Mads Korneliussen started the evening well but failed to score in his final three heats.
Elsewhere, Travis McGowan and James Wright endured difficult evenings with both riders failing to score.
Richard Sweetman deputised for the injured Manuel Hauzinger at the number six berth and the eighteen year old Australian will have certainly learnt plenty from the experience.
Poole’s Chris Holder took victory in the opening race courtesy of an electric get away that left the rest of the field trailing. Swindon captain Leigh Adams forged a route into second position on the back straight of the opening lap but was unable to hunt down the super quick Holder out front.
Jurica Pavlic wasted no time familiarising himself with Poole’s Wimborne Road circuit and recovered from a sluggish get away in heat two by surging past Freddie Eriksson on the second lap. A typically flamboyant Pavlic almost nipped past Poole’s Daniel Davidsson in the closing staging but the Swede held on to hand Poole their second successive 4-2 heat advantage.
The Pirates notched another 4-2 in heat three which extended their advantage to six points before a twice re-run heat four saw the Swindon duo of Batchelor and Pavlic hit back with a 4-2 of their own.
Leigh Adams eased to an untroubled victory in race five before Poole began to stamp their authority on the encounter with a comfortable 5-1 from Zetterstrom and Holder in heat six.
Mads Korneliussen rode tenaciously to repel the persistent challenge of Poole’s Davey Watt in race seven, the resultant 3-3 maintained the eight point margin between the two sides.
Magnus Zetterstrom indulged in a superb battle with Jurica Pavlic in a crackerjack heat eight that saw the experienced Swede hold on for victory. Freddie Eriksson’s third spot ensured Poole shuffled their advantage to ten points before two further 4-2 advantages in heats nine and ten handed the Dorset septet a commanding fourteen point lead.
Leigh Adams was nominated for a tactical ride in heat eleven and the Robins’ skipper didn’t disappoint as he successfully fended off a spirited challenge from a pressing Davey Watt. Jurica Pavlic fought hard to find a route past Freddie Eriksson in third spot but was ultimately unable to secure a route past the Swede.
Poole dealt Swindon a body blow in heat twelve with a 5-1 from Bjarne Pedersen and Daniel Davidsson. The race advantage handed the Pirates a fifteen point advantage on the night
A controversial heat thirteen followed as meeting referee Chris Gay took the unusual decision of excluding Troy Batchelor for rolling at the start. Batchelor didn’t touch the tapes but was excluded by Gay who had warned the Swindon number five earlier in the meeting.
Richard Sweetman was brought in as a replacement in a re-run that was comfortably won by Leigh Adams.
Poole concluded the meeting in spectacular fashion with two successive 5-1 heat advantages which moved their overall tally on to fifty eight points.
Alun Rossiter’s side will be hoping for a much improved performance when they travel to Peterborough on Monday.
