SWINDON Robins’ wait for their first away victory of the season goes on after they slipped to a dramatic last-gasp defeat at the Belle Vue Aces this evening.

After 2014 Advertiser rider of the year Steve Worrall played the part of chief antagonist against his former club by racking up a formidable 10-point haul, a thrilling meeting came down to the final heat, with the Robins leading by two points.

But Matej Zagar’s scorching ride saw him round off a heart-stopping maximum in the last race of the night, leaving a bitter taste in Swindon mouths.

Peter Kildemand brought home a race win in the opening heat and in the first reserve battle of the evening in the second heat, the Aces’ Worrall and Stefan Nielsen looked like they were going to land the first significant blow of the evening, only for the latter to tumble off his bike.

Instead, Swindon’s Australian duo of Nick Morris and skipper Troy Batchelor racked up their side’s first maximum of the meeting in heat three, Morris scorching to a dominant heat win whilst his countryman provided exceptional support to hold off the challenge of Scott Nicholls and Josh Grajczonek.

Gzregorz Zengota looked set to deal the Aces another body blow in heat four as he quickly opened up an unassailable advantage but the Swindon rider was quickly brought back to earth with a bang as he lost control and careered into the barriers.

In the re-run, Wright was unable to hold off Craig Cook and Worrall and the home side hit back with a 5-1 score.

But the pendulum swung back the Robins’ way in heat six as the dynamic duo of Batchelor and Kildemand cruised to a stunning yet seemingly effortless maximum win against Cook and Josh Grajczonek.

A 4-2 win in heat eight saw the hosts bring themselves back within touching distance and the Swindon challenge then began to falter in heats nine and ten.

First, Max Fricke and Worrall got the jump on Zengota and Wright and when the latter caught an opponent attempting to steal in down the outside, the Robins reserve caused an almighty crash, with Belle Vue awarded the maximum.

A second 5-1 followed as Nicholls and Grajczonek shut down Kildemand and Howarth, barely conceding an inch as they carved out a six-point lead for the home team.

Former Swindon man Worrall’s fine evening ended on a downer as he came off his bike in heat 12 and that left Wright to win a thrilling battle with Nielsen to help chip away at the deficit.

With three heats to go, the gap was four points and when Kildemand and Batchelor combined to hold off Nicholls, with Zagar retiring early on, a third Robins 5-1 of the night made it 39-39.

It was squeaky bum time and in the penultimate race of the night, Morris and Wright came to the fore and combined to seal a 4-2 win over Grajczonek and Cook to ensure that the advantage was once again in the hands of the visitors.

Robins chief Alun Rossiter turned to his trusted duo of Kildemand and captain Batchelor in the decisive final heat but an extraordinary ride from Zagar saw Belle Vue snatch victory in dramatic style.

With Nicholls uncatchable, the Swindon duo looked in control of second and third place but the Aces’ Slovenian rider went hell for leather in the final lap and somehow slipped past both Robins men to clinch second place, a last-gasp maximum and victory for the home side.