NEIL Middleditch still believes Swindon are stronger than his Poole side despite his Pirates storming back into the Elite League final.

The Dorset club looked down and out after slipped 18 points down after only nine heats of Monday’s first leg, but tactical successes for both Darcy Ward and Chris Holder dragged them back into the contest to only trail by seven.

But the Pirates top three scored all-but six of their points as rider replacement for the injured Piotr Pawlicki only yielded three, leading Middleditch to believe the Robins still have an edge.

“I still think Swindon are the stronger side on paper, and rider replacement for Piotr only got us three points in the first leg when five or six would have made a lot of difference,” he said.

“But we can only deal with what is there, and the gap is seven points and that is what we have to work with.

“We are going to be on our track but there has been nothing in it between us this season, and we have got some great racing from the top two teams in the league.

“It always seemed likely Swindon and Poole would make the final, and now we both have, we are putting on a show.”