SWINDON Robins boss Alun Rossiter held his hands up after his side’s play-off dream came to a bitter end tonight.

Swindon went into the Elite League play-off semi-final against Coventry Bees looking to overturn an eight-point deficit following their 49-41 defeat at Brandon last week.

But they were left licking their wounds as the Midlands side ran riot at the Abbey, winning 50-45 on the night and 99-86 on aggregate to claim the Grand Final place.

Rossiter admitted that a sodden Blunsdon track played a big part in the jarring defeat, but insisted that there were no excuses.

“I can’t hide behind it – they beat us at Coventry and they beat us here. There’s no excuse,” said Rossiter.

“I just need time to think about it and choose my words correctly. I wear my heart on my sleeve and I say it how it is and it will probably come out wrong. I think I just need a bit of time to cool down. I’m just absolutely bitterly disappointed.

“The bottom line is we just didn’t gate, it’s as simple as that. They gated, we didn’t. There wasn’t much more.

“It wasn’t as if they were passing us. They just got out of the gate quicker than us. That’s all I can say really.

“The track’s been absolutely outstanding and I’m not criticising the track because the effort these guys have put in to get the meeting off – maybe in hindsight, it should have been better (to) just get it rained off.

“It’s just frustrating the way it went. There’s nothing I can say or do.

“We were out-trapped – simple as that.”