AFTER slipping to their fourth straight defeat on Saturday at the hands of the Guildford Flames, Swindon Wildcats' head coach Ryan Aldridge questioned his side's mental toughness.

The Cats piled a lot of pressure on the Guildford net in the opening frame at the Link Centre but found themselves a goal down as they were caught on the break.

The Flames doubled their lead early in the second period through ex-Wildcat Jozef Kohut, but Swindon responded in the perfect manner, scoring two in as many minutes via Adam Harding and Lee Richardson.

With the score nicely poised at 2-2 going into the final 20 minutes of action, both teams created chances and in-form goalies Stevie Lyle and Gregg Rockman were required to make multiple saves.

Owen Fussey's weak shot found a way past Lyle to give the Surrey side a third-period lead. The Cats pushed hard to find an equaliser but, as ever, the Flames played a well structured and disciplined final frame.

Swindon pulled their netminder with two minutes to go and conceded twice to leave a flattering 5-2 scoreline in favour of the visitors.

Looking to bounce back with a win on the road at Bracknell on Sunday, the Cats put in a very pleasing performance against a struggling Bees outfit.

Polish forward Tomasz Malasinski, who is proving to be an early revelation for Swindon, bagged the opener in a period that ended 1-0.

Aldridge's men stuck to their game plan and took control in the second period, going 3-0 up through Lee Richardson and captain Jan Kostal.

Matt Towalski gave Bracknell a glimmer of hope when he scored early in a very feisty third period, but Welsh defence man Alex Symonds sealed the victory for the Wildcats.

Aldridge said victory at Bracknell could be a turning point in the season.

We will see the effect it has when the Cats play two home games this weekend against Sheffield and Bracknell.