Sky Sports Elite League

Belle Vue 48

Swindon Robins 44

SWINDON fell agonisingly short of a spectacular comeback as they slipped to a 48-44 defeat against Belle Vue at Kirkmanshulme Lane.

Having fallen 11 points behind early on, the Robins were always playing catch-up – but they fought back bravely to force a last-heat decider and picked up a well-deserved consolation point from the meeting.

With play-off rivals Eastbourne suffering a heavy defeat at Poole, it was a night which saw Swindon's play-off push given another boost.

Skipper Troy Batchelor led the Robins in fine style, racing to a 17-point haul including a tactical ride win to help catapult his side back into contention in Heat 6.

He received solid support from fellow Aussies Dakota North and Nick Morris, both of whom recorded race wins as they added vital contributions.

Reserve Steve Worrall also recovered from a nightmare start to add an excellent 8+1 including a composed race win in Heat 14 alongside North to keep Swindon's hopes alive.

However, Simon Gustafsson and Peter Kildemand both endured tough nights from the heat-leader positions as the Robins fell just short of a fifth consecutive win.

Boss Alun Rossiter was pleased his side were not left empty-handed after their recovery from a slow start.

He said: "We knew it was going to be tough because Belle Vue are a good side who are capable of performing really well on their day.

"Their heat leaders were all going well and after falling behind like we did early on we were pleased to come away with a point.

"It was a true captain's performance from Troy which stole the show. He really was brilliant.

BELLE VUE: Scott Nicholls 10+2, Craig Cook 9+2, Matej Zagar 9+1, Richie Worrall 6, Max Fricke 5+1, Oliver Greenwood 5, Lee Payne 4+1.

SWINDON: Troy Batchelor 17, Steve Worrall 8+1, Dakota North 6+1, Nick Morris 6, Simon Gustafsson 3+1, Peter Kildemand 2, Nathan Greaves 2.