Swindon take a six-point lead to Norfolk on Monday after a 48-42 win over King’s Lynn in the first leg of their Knockout Cup semi-final.

The Robins initially moved into a 21-15 lead courtesy of 5-1s in Heats five and six but the Stars remained in contention thanks to two early wins for Michael Palm Toft, who was instrumental in their fightback.

Heats seven to nine went in the Stars’ favour 14-4 as they turned a six-point deficit into a four-point lead with Palm Toft involved in successive 5-1s in the eighth and ninth.

Iversen held off the considerable efforts of Ellis to maintain that margin in Heat 10, but the Robins produced a big finish to turn the match back in their favour in the closing five races. In Heat 11, skipper Nick Morris rode a stormer to make his way inside Lambert midway through the race to take an excellent win with Zach Wajtknecht third in a Swindon 4-2.

With Bellego taking Heat 12, the first clash of the big guns saw Robins level the scores with another 4-2 as Troy Batchelor got the better of Iversen, with Morris holding off Lambert for third.

Musielak and Wajtknecht then squeezed out Thomas Jorgensen for a 5-1 which put Swindon back ahead in heat 14 and in the dramatic finale, Iversen initially led only for Musielak to pass the Dane at the end of the second lap as Swindon won 4-2.