REACTION: MIDDLO DISAPPOINTED TO LOSE OUT TO ADVERSARY ROSCO

Poole Wessex Marine Pirates team manager Neil Middleditch couldn't decide whether he was disappointed or not after his side lost to old adversary Alun Rossiter's Swindon Select.
 

Having seen his side go down 42-68 to the Robins Select side Middlo summed the night up, saying "I told Rosco that next time I am going to draft in one of the Holders! I never like to lose to Rosco but he assembled a good team and nobody had an answer to Doyley (Jason Doyle) tonight. He's in tip top form at the moment and then there was Mozza (Nick Morris) who showed his liking for the place.
"I'm not disappointed, well I am disappointed, that's a lie, but it is because I don't like losing.Our boys did well, they were ten points down at one stage and we got it back to two and just lost it towards the end. So all in all they can feel happy with their night's work.
"It was the first time I have ever seen Keynan (Rew) ride to be fair and I gave him heat fifteen on the strength of his last few rides where he was absolutely flying and he was chuffed to bits to get it. When he came in from heat fifteen I told him that would be the last heat fifteen he ever gets from me. I think he took it in the right spirit but he might not understand my sense of humour. Who knows, but fair play he and Dougy (Ryan Douglas) were good guests for us but Swindon just had the upper hand on us."

Rain throughout the afternoon had left the track pretty heavy and it was the visitors that benefited, particularly in the early exchanges. Jason Doyle warmed up for this weekend's GP second round at Warsaw, with a wheel perfect fifteen point maximum, although partisan Poole fans were frustrated that the trainee referee chose to call heat thirteen back after Douglas seemed to get the better of his fellow Aussie, despite Doyle moving at the start.

Providing only one race winner in the first five heats - Adam Roynon's heat two victory - the Pirates quickly fell to a double digit deficit, but sparked by a heat advantage through Richard Lawson and stand-in skipper Kyle Newman in heat seven, the Pirates staged a mid-meeting recovering, steadily trimming the Robins lead down to two.

They were denied a huge opportunity to square the meeting at heat fourteen when Alfie Bowtell took an awkward second turn fall forcing a re-run with Zach Cook and Newman up against sole Robin Sam Hagon. The youngster, though, produced another impressive ride and led for most of it, before Newman battled by him, a move that kept Poole in with a chance of springing a victory.

But Doyle and Morris were simply too strong for Lawson and Rew in that final race as the Robins became the first visiting side to win at Wimborne Road since June 2022, a run of fifteen matches without defeat.

Scores: POOLE 42 Richard Lawson 9+1 (2,3,2,1',1) ,Keynan Rew 7+1 (0,1',3,3,0) ,Ryan Douglas 7+1 (1,2,2',2) ,Kyle Newman 6+1 (1,1,1',3) ,Ben Cook 6 (0,2,2,2) ,Adam Roynon 4 (3,0,1,0) ,Zach Cook 3+1 (1,0,1',1)
SWINDON  48 ,Jason Doyle 15 (3,3,3,3,3) ,Nick Morris 11+1 (3,3,3,0,2') ,Justin Sedgmen 9 (3,2,1,3) ,Anders Rowe 5+1 (2',1,2,0) ,Sam Hagon 5 (2,1,0,2) ,Alfie Bowtell 2+1 (2',0,0,XD) ,Jack Smith 1 (0,0,0,1)

Full report and heat details

Photo: Anthony Burchell