BATTLING Swindon were edged out 50-43 by title favourites Poole in a Blunsdon thriller on Thursday.

The meeting went to a last heat decider after Simon Stead pulled off a vital win in Heat 14 and in-form reserve Cory Gathercole gained third for a 4-2.

It left the Robins needing a maximum 5-1 from the final race to secure an unlikely win – but they missed out after Scott Nicholls hit the tapes and was forced to start from a 15-metre handicap. Poole went on to finish the meeting with a 5-1 which secured four valuable league points in their battle to stay top of the table.

The fact that the meeting went down to the wire was made more amazing by the fact that Swindon needed a tactical ride – and thankfully Nicolai Klindt responded with a brilliant six-pointer.

But Jan Staechmann’s men left themselves with just too much to do, but they gave it their all and it was a fine night of Elite League speedway.

SWINDON: Nicolai Klindt 12+1, Cory Gathercole 8+2, Simon Stead 8+1, Scott Nicholls 7+1, Maciej Janowski 6+1, Jesper B Monberg 2, Sergey Darkin 0.

POOLE: Rory Schlein 14, Jason Doyle 10+2, Davey Watt 9, Darcy Ward 8+1, Dennis Andersson 3+1, Renat Gafurov 3+1, Christian Hefenbrock 3+1.