SWINDON Wildcats player-coach Aaron Nell was full of praise for the hard work shown by his side as they beat Hull Pirates 5-2 to secure at least a sixth-place finish in the English Premier League.

Robin Kovar pulled the hosts back from a horror start at the Link Centre after Lee Bonner had given Hull the lead inside 45 seconds.

However, second-period goals from Lee Richardson and Jonas Höög put the Cats in the driving seat heading into the final 20 minutes.

Ugnius Cizas reduced the deficit seven minutes into the third period before Kovar’s solo effort seven minutes from time all but put the game to bed before Max Birbraer scored into an empty net with five seconds remaining.

“We had a solid game tonight,” said Nell.

“We didn’t start the game well but I think we really got into it and came away with a very important win.

“The start was tough but it happens. We showed good character to control the rest of the game.

“We scored at key times and when our four-check was on and we four-checked well, we had a lot of success and we turned over a lot of pucks and got some big goals from it.

“At times in the third, they had some good pressure but Robin’s second goal was a very good goal and that settled us down a little bit.

“We had some spots where were weren’t at our best but that is going to happen in all games.

“When it is scrappy, you’ve got to work harder and make it simpler and I think we did that at times.

“We stuck together well and got a big win.”

Wildcats were without influential forward Thomasz Malasinski for the game, as well as fellow front man Floyd Taylor, but Nell dismissed the Pole’s injury as nothing to be concerned about with the play-offs on the immediate horizon.

“With Thomasz out tonight and Floydy as well, it could have been a lot tougher than it was,” added Nell, who side are without a game on Sunday.

“(Malasinski) has got a little injury, it’s nothing to worry about and he should be back next week.

“We don’t want to risk him, he is a very big part of our team but I am 99 per cent sure he will be back next week.”

The Wildcats also named the dates of their home play-off fixtures at the end of the game, with the Link Centre playing host on Saturday,March 25, Wednesday, March 29, and Sunday, April 2.