ROBINS ON A ROLL

Friday July 31, 2015
SWINDON staged another dramatic comeback to pick up four more Elite League points after racing to a 50-43 win away at Lakeside.

Despite only having three of their own riders, a patched-up Robins side recovered from a disappointing start to make it 11-points out of a possible 15 from their four meetings this week.

With five heats gone, it looked as though it was going to be another tough trip to Essex as the Robins trailed by 12-points. But back-to-back maximum heat advantages for Alun Rossiter's men started yet another stunning revival on the road. Rosco nominated Darcy Ward for double-points in heat six and the move was timed to perfection. Skipper Troy Batchelor led for the majority of the race before allowing Ward past on the run to the line to ensure a vital 8-1.

In the very next race, Ward took care of the previously unbeaten Lakeside captain Andreas Jonsson to shepherd Grzegorz Zengota home for a 5-1 to reduce the Robins' deficit to just a single point.

Five, tense shared-heats would follow, before another Ward/ Batchelor 1-2 in heat 13 gave the Blunsdon outfit the lead for the first time on the night.

Zengota and Batchelor tucked in behind Lakeside's Richard Lawson in heat 14 to take it down to a last heat decider with the Robins three-points in front.

The Robins spearhead of Batchelor and Ward combined for yet another maximum heat advantage to win by seven on the night and collected maximum available points on their travels for the second time this week.

A delighted Rossiter said: “What another fantastic win and what another great result when you consider the situation we found ourselves in early on.

“Darcy and Troy were outstanding all night and I have to give special praise to Zengi once again. Everyone knows he struggles with these smaller, technical tracks but he’s carried on his recent, excellent form by scoring 16 at Wolverhampton on Monday and scoring nine here tonight – eight of which were from his last three rides!

“All of our guests chipped-in with some important scores and they all did the job that was asked of them.

“The momentum we got from heats six and seven were huge and I was always confident that we’d come strong late on in the meeting once again.

“We’ve got to keep our run at home going and there’s plenty of opportunities to pick up some more vital points on the road.

“We’ve got a bit of a break now before a hectic but important few weeks start for us. It’s in our own hands as we race against all of the teams around us, but I won’t allow anyone, including myself, to get too carried away.

“I’m really happy with how things have gone overall this week and I couldn’t be more pleased with the team right now.”

Tonight’s result sees the Robins stay in fourth place as they move five-points clear ahead of Belle Vue as well as closing the gap on third-placed King’s Lynn to just three-points.

LAKESIDE 43: Andreas Jonsson 12, Richard Lawson 9+2, Piotr Swiderski 7+1, Adam Ellis 6, Ben Morley 5+1, Edward Kennett 4, Mikkel Bech R/R.

SWINDON 50: Darcy Ward 17+2, Troy Batchelor 11+4, Grzegorz Zengota 9, Carl Wilkinson 6, Lewis Blackbird 5+1, Rob Branford 2+2, Nick Morris R/R.

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