Poole Pirates v Swindon Robins

Poole reserves Nico Covatti and Ricky Wells countered an opening 5-1 Swindon advantage, masterminded by Adam Ellis and Jason Doyle before the meeting went into level balance with a string of shared heats.
 

The meeting had to wait until heat seven before the deadlock was broken again, Covatti this time pairing up with Brady Kurtz to inflict a 5-1 over Tobiasz Musielak and Rasmus Jensen. Poole backed that up with captain Josh Grajczonek and Ricky Wells matching that previous heat outcome to extend Poole's lead to eight.
Swindon responded to that deficit by utilising Jason Doyle as a tactical substitute to combine with Troy Batchelor, who earlier in the meeting had stormed to the front with a clever pass over Ricky Wells in heat 4 and made it two wins out of two in the sixth,  but Grajczonek mitigated the impact of Alun Rossiter's move by finishing between the two high-flying Robins, unable to prevent Batchelor making it a hat-trick of wins.
Covatti though featured in his third 5-1 of the meeting as he paired up with Jack Holder in heat 10 to create a double figure advantage, but still the Pirates couldn't relax as Swindon began nibbling away at the deficit with back-to-back 4-2 gains ahead of the final three heats which were sure to feature their two big hitters Jason Doyle and Troy Batchelor.
But the first of those was ably dealt as Holder was totally defiant to Batchelor's aspirations to get amongst the points and ensured a share of the spoils to  retain the Pirates' six point lead at 42-36. Musielak fiercefully fended off Grajczonek in heat 14 but with Poole again sharing the heat the win on the night was assured and it was all down to whether they could pick up a heat advantage in the final heat to deny play-off hopefuls Swindon a crucial point.
Batchelor was quick to get clear of Holder this time and followed home Doyle for a closing 5-1 thus securing that crucial point.

POOLE 46
J.Holder,1,2,3,1',0=7+1 (5)
Rider Replacement
N.Klindt,0,2,0,2'=4+1 (4)
J.Grajczonek,3,1,3,2,2=11 (5)
B.Kurtz,2,2',2,2=8+1 (4)
N.Covatti,F,3,3,2',0,1',1=10+2 (7)
R.Wells ,2',1',1',2',0=6+4 (5)

SWINDON 44
J.Doyle,2',3,1,3,3,3=15+1 (6)
A.Elllis,3,0,1,1=5 (4)
R.Jensen,1',0,R,3=4+1 (4)
T.Musielak,2,1,1,3=7 (4)
T.Batchelor,3,3,3,0,2'=11+1 (5)
E.Perks,0,0,0,1=1 (4)
K.Newman,1,0,0,=1 (3)

Ht 1: A.Elllis, J.Doyle, J.Holder, N.Covatti 1-5 1-5 [59.03]
Ht 2: N.Covatti, R.Wells , K.Newman, E.Perks 5-1 6-6 [59.84]
Ht 3: J.Grajczonek, T.Musielak, R.Jensen, N.Klindt 3-3 9-9 [59.66]
Ht 4: T.Batchelor, B.Kurtz, R.Wells , K.Newman 3-3 12-12 [59.53]
Ht 5: J.Doyle, N.Klindt, J.Grajczonek, A.Elllis 3-3 15-15 [59.54]
Ht 6: T.Batchelor, J.Holder, R.Wells , E.Perks 3-3 18-18 [59.31]
Ht 7: N.Covatti, B.Kurtz, T.Musielak, R.Jensen 5-1 23-19 [60.63]
Ht 8: J.Grajczonek, R.Wells , A.Elllis, E.Perks  5-1 28-20 [60.69]
Ht 9: T.Batchelor, J.Grajczonek, J.Doyle, N.Klindt 2-4 30-24 [60.37]
Ht 10: J.Holder, N.Covatti, T.Musielak, R.Jensen 5-1 35-25 [60.59]
Ht 11: J.Doyle, B.Kurtz, A.Elllis, N.Covatti 2-4 37-29 [60.18]
Ht 12: R.Jensen, N.Klindt, E.Perks, R.Wells  2-4 39-33 [60.44]
Ht 13: J.Doyle, B.Kurtz, J.Holder, T.Batchelor 3-3 42-36 [60.56]
Ht 14: T.Musielak, J.Grajczonek, N.Covatti, K.Newman 3-3 45-39 [61.34]
Ht 15: J.Doyle, T.Batchelor, N.Covatti, J.Holder 1-5 46-44 []

REFEREE Mrs Christina Turnbull
League Points: POOLE 3 SWINDON 1