Swindon Robins 43 Leicester Lions 47: Losing run continues for Rosco's men

Alun Rossiter’s Swindon Robins came into the evening's meeting looking to bounce back to winning ways following two defeats to the reigning Elite league champions Poole Pirates earlier in the week.

 

However a Leicester side bottom of the table and with nothing to lose came to the Abbey stadium with other ideas as they rode to a second impressive victory over the Robins this season.

 

An opening heat featuring Swindon’s Jason Doyle and Josh Grajczonek got things off to the perfect start for Alun Rossiter’s men by securing an impressive 5-1 heat maximum over Leicester’s guest number one Richard Lawson and Nicolai Klindt.

 

The good form continued from there with 3-3 heat draws in heats two and three and another 5-1 maximum for the Robins in heat four as Nick Morris and Charles Wright enjoyed getting the better of Starke and Auty, to give Swindon an unsurprising eight point lead after four heats with a score of 16-8.

 

However that was set to be the best as it got for the Swindon Robins on the night, as a resurgent Leicester Lions side started their comeback with a 5-1 race maximum in heat five as guest reserve Brady Kurtz continued his fine form to combine with former Robins rider Nicolai Klindt.

 

A disappointing heat six for the Wiltshire side saw Rohan Tungate's night end prematurely after aggravating a shoulder injury suffered earlier in the season, meaning the home side would continue the night with six riders as reserve Charles Wright stepped into Tungate’s shoes for the remainder of the evening.

 

With a six point difference as the score stood at 24-18 come the halfway stage after seven heats, Leicester then went on to take maximum advantage of the Swindon riders unpredictability on the night by combing excellently and displaying some fantastic riding to outrace the Robins by putting together three 5-1 heat maximums on the bounce and flipping the tie on its head with the away side leading by six points and a score of 27-33 after ten heats.

 

Superstar number one Jason Doyle and fellow Aussie Josh Grajczonek attempted to lead a comeback as Rossiter demanded better from his team by riding to the Robins’ fourth 5-1 of the night beating Leicester’s Aaron Summers and Davey Watt in some style as Grajczonek rode a tight inside line to hold off the challenge of Watt.

 

But unfortunately for Swindon fans the comeback was not to be, as three heat draws in a row saw it all come down to another final heat decider at the Blunsdon arena.

 

Jason Doyle and Josh Grajczonek were the riders entrusted with the job of securing a match winning 5-1 whilst away manager Norrie Allan put his faith in Klindt and Kurtz.

 

A great start from Grajczonek on the outside gat saw him hit the front from the off, however a rare mistake at the start line from Doyle faced the Aussie with the difficult task of passing both Leicester riders.

 

It appeared Doyle tried too hard as on the third turn he rode too wide and ended up falling off, being excluded, and handing Leicester the away win on what was a dramatic night of speedway.

 

A difficult week for the Swindon Robins sees them lose all three matches, picking up zero points from a possible ten, but an away trip to the Leicester Lions on Saturday gives them the great chance of acquiring some payback.

 

Rider scores:

 

SWINDON 43: Jason Doyle 11+1, Josh Grajczonek 8+1, Nick Morris 8, Stefan Nielsen 6+2, Charles Wright 5+1, Justin Sedgmen 4+1, Rohan Tungate 1+1.

 

LEICESTER 47: Brady Kurtz 17+1, Nicolai Klindt 12+1, Richard Lawson 6+2, Paul Starke 4+1, Davey Watt 4, Aaron Summers 3, Josh Auty 1+1.