THE Swindon Wildcats bounced back from the Challenge Cup semi final thrashing by Manchester Phoenix in impressive fashion to defeat their Northern counterparts on Saturday.

It was the last of three back-to-back games for Swindon and Manchester and the Cats started well with the prolific combo of Aaron Nell and Jonas Hoog combining to give the home side an early lead.

That advantage was soon doubled when Tomasz Malasinski was provided with as easy a chance as he’ll ever get, tapping in from a yard to conclude a scrappy first period.

Manchester, who were more than an hour late arriving at the Swindon Ice Arena due to heavy traffic, eventually started to get back into the game and scored a very well worked goal through Shaun Thompson.

Tomas Kana, the Wildcats’ most recent signing, has struggled to get going offensively, but he provided a spark late in the second stanza by converting a lovely pass from Adam Harding.

The Wiltshire side’s lead was cut in half less than a minute later as James Archer left Stevie Lyle helpless with a clinical finish.

Swindon were desperate to grab another goal and ease any tension, but they found themselves under comprehensive pressure during parts of the third period.

The defensive unit and Lyle remained strong and Nell banished any nerves with an empty-net strike to give his side a 4-2 victory.

After being humiliated 10-5 just two days earlier in Manchester, it was a good test of the Cats’ strength of character. They got the job done and their season is back on track.

Having had a rare Sunday off, the Cats are in midweek action this week as they welcome the Milton Keynes Lightning to town on Wednesday.

We are now into the latter part of the season and this is the perfect time for coach Ryan Aldridge and his team to string a few wins together and crucially book a better a play-off seeding.