SWINDON rounded off their regular home Elite League campaign with a hard-earned 49-41 win over Coventry at the Abbey Stadium.

The victory moves the M&S Van Rentals Robins into second place in the table, above the Bees on points difference, although Coventry’s two remaining fixtures are both at home whereas Swindon must travel to Poole and King’s Lynn.

If Thursday’s meeting was a dress rehearsal for a potential play-off clash between the teams, there is much to look forward to as there was a great deal of competitive racing with the track well-prepared as usual.

Peter Kildemand made a successful Abbey return with three wins, including some trademark passing moves, before his colours were lowered by former Robins skipper Hans Andersen in Heat 14.

Kildemand had earlier ridden the outside superbly to go around Chris Harris and Max Fricke in Heat 6 as the Robins protected a two-point lead for much of the meeting.

Their first 5-1 of the night had come one race earlier in Heat 5 thanks to a fine effort from Lewis Rose, who came into the race after Charles Wright had been disqualified for leaving the track after an unsatisfactory start, and partnered Aaron Summers to maximum points.

Andersen and Harris both impressed for the Bees as the match remained close into the final stages but the Robins moved four clear with a 4-2 in Heat 11 as skipper Troy Batchelor, who enjoyed a strong night at No.1, took the win and Summers pounced to move inside Fricke for third place.

The big result for Swindon came in Heat 13 when Batchelor and Grzegorz Zengota combined for a 5-1 over Harris, despite the best efforts of the Coventry skipper to get the better of the Pole.

Andersen beat Kildemand in Heat 14 but that race ensured Swindon’s win, and then just when the Bees looked set for a consolation point Andersen fell on the last lap of Heat 15 enabling Batchelor and Zengota to follow Harris home for a 3-3.

Swindon boss Alun Rossiter said: “We came good towards the end, we came on strong as we always do, and it’s a good win for us.

“Heat 13 was a great race - it was a bit tight and tough, but in the end Zengi held on and he rode two of the laps without his steel shoe!

“We knew we’d get that sort of performance from Peter Kildemand. Wednesday at Coventry was tough because conditions weren’t the best and I’d told the boys to ride with their heads, because the last thing we want is any more injuries.

“You could quite clearly see that Nick (Morris) is affected at the moment, because Darcy Ward is his best mate, but he’s going to go and see him tomorrow so fingers crossed that might relieve that situation a bit for him.”

Robins now travel to Poole on Monday and King’s Lynn on a date to be confirmed, and they will also discover their play-off opposition next week.

ELITE LEAGUE
SWINDON 49: Troy Batchelor 12+1, Peter Kildemand 11, Grzegorz Zengota 7+3, Charles Wright 6+1, Aaron Summers 5+2, Lewis Rose 5, Nick Morris 3+1
COVENTRY 41: Chris Harris 13+1, Hans Andersen 12+1, Jason Garrity 5+2, Max Fricke 4+1, James Sarjeant 4, Thomas Jorgensen 3, Joonas Kylmakorpi r/r
Elite League points: Swindon 3 Coventry 0