ALUN Rossiter was pleased to see some of his under-pressure riders step up to the plate as the Swindon Robins ended their long wait for a SGB Premiership home win tonight.

The future of the likes of British aces Adam Ellis and Zach Wajtknecht, as well as French rider David Bellego and New Zealander Bradley Wilson-Dean have come under scrutiny over the last month, not least since the Robins had gone four league matches without a win prior to last night’s visit of Rye House Rockets.

But after team boss Rossiter had asked for an improvement from his existing line-up – with the threat of changes in the background – his young side delivered as they finally broke their 2017 duck on home shale with a 50-42 triumph.

While skipper Jason Doyle and fellow Aussie Nick Morris were their usual consistent winning selves, with paid 12 and 12 respectively, their unheralded team-mates also delivered the goods as the Robins secured a success that was probably more emphatic than the scoreline suggests.

Ellis and Bellego teamed up effectively in three races, garnering seven and paid 10, while Kiwi Wilson-Dean was good value for his paid eight.

Wajtknecht, meanwhile, delivered an entertaining five, with his opening two rides in particular earning him plaudits from the watching spectators.

Rossiter said: “They’re all coming good. Adam (Ellis) has taken a lot of stick from a lot of people but you can see signs of it coming together now.

“I always believed in Adam. He’s started to come good when he’d been riding for the (British) U21s and stuff like that and a couple of the others have done well tonight too.

“Even Zach got stuck in tonight. That’s probably the best I’ve seen him ride so I’m very pleased with the points he got tonight.’’ Rossiter, whose side don’t now return to action until June 29 against champions Wolverhampton, added: “I thought we did well tonight. It was difficult with the track. We ran out of water to put down on it and it dried out, which probably helped them more at the end, but we started the meeting well.

“The lads got stuck in and we’re pleased to get that first home win on the board.’’ The Robins drafted in Workington Comets’ James Sarjeant for Austrian reserve Dany Gappmaier in the only change to their line-up.

Rye House, for their part, introduced a familiar Blunsdon face as a guest, with Troy Batchelor – now of King’s Lynn Stars – stepping in for the visitors.

But it was the Robins who made the perfect start, Wilson-Dean zooming off the start before skipper Doyle roared around the outside, leaving the rest trailing and Rockets’ Stuart Robson and skipper Edward Kennett nowhere.

Wajtknecht built on the early promise in the second, despite Ellis Perks’ fine start. The young Brit cranked up the pressure, Perks going to ground on the first corner of lap three to allow the Robins rider the win, guest Sarjeant just unable to get past Robert Branford.

Batchelor brought up Rye House’s first heat win in the next, a routine affair as Ellis and Bellego tucked in behind for a 3-3.

Morris responded in kind for the home side in four, comfortably seeing off Scott Nicholls, but the real action was behind as Wajtknecht raised a cheer by reeling in the hapless Perks and going past his man into third at the start of lap four.

It got even better after the first break as Ellis stormed to his first Abbey heat win this season and Bellego took advantage of Kennett’s untidy ride to land second spot and another Swindon maximum in the sixth saw Wilson-Dean lead off and Doyle expertly negotiate himself into second place despite the efforts of Nicholls.

Needing a lift, the Rockets sent out Batchelor on a double-points tactical ride in the seventh heat, but he found fellow Aussie Morris too tough a nut to crack and had to settle for second place and four points, team-mate Ricky Wells getting the better of Sarjeant for third.

Robson eked out another heat win for the visitors in eight, Perks coming in third with Wilson-Dean in between, with the next two races shared between Nicholls and Czecch GP winner Doyle.

Heat 11 was also halved, despite Robson being excluded for collecting Sarjeant on the first bend of lap two, with Morris away and gone. The Aussie was unable repeated the feat in the re-run, but Kennett, finding form at last, fought back and nipped past his rival on the last lap.

A first maximum of the night followed for the away side in the next, Batchelor again happily reacquainting himself with the Abbey Stadium track and Perks – in for Branford – perhaps surprisingly holding off a charging Wajtknecht and disappointing Ellis.

But the Robins slammed the door shut to wrap up their first home league win of the year in the next as Morris and Doyle first squeezed Nicholls on to the floor, then in the re-run delivered a perfect team ride to deliver a fourth maximum of the night.

Bellego then added a deserved first win of the evening in the penultimate race, which was shared with Wells and Perks filling the next two places.

Rossiter sent Ellis and Morris out for the final race, but the Rockets pair of Batchelor and Nicholls salvaged some late consolation with a maximum for the visitors.