ALUN Rossiter praised his Swindon Robins side after they soared back to the top of the SGB Premeriship table with a big win over Leicester Lions tonight.

The Swindon boss had labelled the tie as ‘must-win’ in the build-up, with the club’s supporters nursing growing concerns over their play-off credentials.

A late shower at the Abbey Stadium pushed the action back for over 45 minutes as the Robins worked tirelessly to make the track race fit.

Gates one and four caused the most concern as they appeared to be underwater at the start of the evening, in addition to a puddle on the inside of the opening bend.

Rossiter also thanked the fans for their patience as the Swindon staff worked to get the track in good shape after the downpour.

“It must have been frustrating for the fans because the meeting didn’t get started until about quarter past eight,” said Rossiter.

“It was important we got it right for the start because there is nothing worse than starting and having to stop, that frustrates the fans more.

“The fans were excellent tonight. There was no jeering, they understood and we got it right from the start.”

Teenager Zach Wajtknecht had another superb outing, scoring 11+2 and Rossiter insists his side are a force to be reckoned with when everyone is firing.

“Obviously, Leicester are struggling at the moment but you can only beat what is put in front of you,” said Rossiter.

“There were positives all the way through. Zach was great, Nick (Morris) is easing his way back in and both Tobiasz (Musielak) and Troy (Batchelor) had good nights.

“We need the top five going, that is no secret. I love Zach, he’s such a good kid, he listens and I have all the time in the world for him.

“He’s a dream to work with. I wish we signed him a couple of years ago but we have finally got him and he is definitely one for the future.

“I don’t think the team were panicking about recent results. We had a bit of a dip but we are top of the league, it’s crackers. If we were fifth or sixth, I would understand the frustration.”

When the action was able to finally get going, the first heat ended in a draw as former Robin Hans Anderson took the heat win, with home riders David Bellego and Troy Batchelor collecting second and third place respectively.

It was the same again a heat later, this time Wajtknecht got the victory to continue his fine person form, while Jack Smith languished at the back of the back.

The home side took the lead in the third, mainly due to Adam Ellis, who was brave into the first two bends before coming out on top. Tobiasz Musielak supported well to give them their first 5-1 of the night, making the score 11-7.

Heat four saw skipper Nick Morris out on the track. He got off to a great start before being passed by Scott Nicholls on the way out of bend two as Simon Stead’s Lions roared back in retaliation to win 4-2.

Ellis and Musielak combined well for the second time in the fifth and registered a comfortable maximum for Rossiter’s troops.

Swindon then began to turn the screw and pull away from their guests. Batchelor was the quickest out of the traps in heat six and held his advantage for the win, with Bellego getting a decent point as they stretched their advantage to 22-14.

Teenager Wajtknecht enjoyed another fantastic race in heat seven, riding well clear of the remaining riders, including Swindon skipper Morris in third The youngster was rewarded with another ride in heat eight where he got another point on the board in addition to Bellego’s three for the win.

In heat nine, the Swindon fans witnessed a superb move from Musielak out of bend two to glide into the lead, as Ellis supported well in third to take the overall score to 34-20.

Swindon produced another great race with five to go when Bellegoand Batchelor snuffed out any opportunity for the Leicester riders to guide the hosts to another 5-1 win.

Stead’s visitors retaliated again in the 11th contest. Smith almost caused an incident on the first turn but after everyone was able to stay upright, Andersen pipped Morris to the line after edging into the lead.

Swindon were handed a numerical advantage a heat later as Charles Wright failed to get to the gates in the allotted two minutes, leaving guest David Howe to race alone for the away side.

The visiting reserve looked set for second place after putting up with Wajtknecht snapping at his heels, but the Robin showed great determination to capitalise on a loose turn from Howe as Swindon collected another maximum and enhanced their stranglehold on the meeting late on.

Australian duo Morris and Batchelor battled it out between themselves in heat 13 to have a go at passing Andersen out front, but neither was able to do so as they settled for a shared heat.

Musielak kept up his positive showing by winning the penultimate race, with Watjknecht wrapping up second place to hand the Robins another 5-1 win.

The Polish man had bike trouble in the final race, although it did little to put a dampener on Swindon’s night overall, as although Andersen and Nicholls completed a 5-1 win over Batchelor, the Robins still finished well clear on the final scoreboard.

SWINDON ROBINS 55 LEICESTER LIONS 35

SWINDON: Troy Batchelor 8+3 (1’-3-2’-1’-1), David Bellego 9 (2-1-3-3), Adam Ellis 10 (3-3-1-3), Tobiasz Musielak 10+2 (2’-2’-3-3-X), Nick Morris 7 (2-1-2-2), Zach Wajtknecht 11+2 (3-3-1-2’-2’), Jack Smith 0 (F-0-0).

LEICESTER: Hans Andersen 12 (3-0-3-3-3), Ricky Wells 1 (0-1-0), Charles Wright 3 (1-2-FX-X), Stuart Robson 0 (0-0-0), Scott Nicholls 10+1 (3-2-2-1-0-2’), Connor Mountain 1+1 (1’-0-0), David Howe 8 (2-1-2-1-1-1).