SWINDON Robins claimed their first home win of the season as they dispatched Rye House Rockets 51-39 at the Abbey Stadium to ease into the semi-finals of the SGB Premiership Knockout Cup.

Nick Morris, Jason Doyle and Bradley Wilson-Dean led the way for Alun Rossiter’s side with scores of 16+1, 12+1 and 10 respectively.

It was a disappointing night for youngster Zach Wajtknecht, who failed to score, but David Bellgo and Emil Grondal can be happier with their performance as they tallied 7+2 and six respectively.

The Robins held an eight-point advantage going into the second leg of this quarter-final, following a 49-41 success in last Saturday’s first leg.

And they had no problem converting that into a sizeable victory to book their place in the last four.

Team manager Rossiter said: “It was a nice, close and tense meeting. Our top-end boys are really going and some of the boys are still feeling their way in.

“We knew it was going to be close and we knew it was going to be more of a levelling track than what Rye House was.

“All in all, I think the crowd will be happy with that. It was a close meeting all the way through and then three 5-1s at the end, you can’t argue.

“I was criticised for persevering with Nick (Morris) but at the end of the day, I knew what was to come.

“You’ve got to give credit where credit is due and I knew the potential was always there.”

Wilson-Dean set the tone in Heat One when he came flying out of the traps to take the lead early on and as a result, got his first win under his belt.

Doyle found himself gaining on second-placed Edward Kennett but ran out of time to catch the visitor so was forced to settle for a point.

After swelling their lead to 10 points, Heat Two saw Swindon have their advantage restored to eight when Rob Branford and Ellis Perks scooped four points to Grondal’s two.

In the fourth, Morris started well and showed great composure to hold off interest from former Robin Scott Nicholls to claim his first victory of the night as Wajtknecht struggled.

After a fast start in Heat Six, Doyle was comfortably ahead of the pack. Wilson-Dean went close to recording two points but was unable to pip Nicholls to the flag as Swindon maintained their eight point advantage.

The most entertaining race came in Heat Seven when Morris and Chris Harris took it in turns to lead the race before Morris picked up his second win with a late manoeuvre on the last bend.

Stuart Robson took the chequered flag in Heat Eight but the highlight of the race came from in-from Wilson-Dean, who snuck past Perks to snatch two points.

In Heat Nine, Bellego came off his bike along with Branford on the first bend but the race was restarted with all four riders.

The Frenchman was not to be deterred as he crossed the line in third, behind Morris and winner Nicholls.

Doyle again showed his ability to make a quick start as he settled into another early lead, which would grow progressively throughout Heat 10.

Despite his best efforts, Wilson-Dean couldn’t generate the speed to catch Harris, who finished second ahead of the New Zealander.

Morris continued to flex his muscles in the 11th Heat when he wrapped up his third win thanks to a fantastic start, while it was the opposite for Bellego, who was unable to recover from a poor start.

Robson was closest to troubling Morris as he collected two points and team-mate Kennett completed the scoring.

Twelve Heats deep, Swindon were once again pulled back to their initial eight-point lead when Bellego could only manage second.

Harris and Branford continued to tick their own tallies over as the former registered his first win and the latter settled for a solitary point.

As for the Robins, Wajtknecht’s night went from bad to worse as he failed to score at the fourth attempt.

Rossiter’s men booked their place in the next round in style when Doyle and Morris combined to score a sublimely timed maximum in Heat 13.

Doyle stayed tight to the inside of the track, while Morris opted for a different route. After the first bend, it became apparent the Rockets were not going to catch the Australians as they streaked ahead.

In the 14th Heat, Bellego stole the show when his last-minute manoeuvre saw him complete a second straight maximum for the Robins to take them to a dominant 95-79 scoreline.

Grondal led from the off, while Bellego was involved in a battle with Davey Watt for second.

It looked as if the Frenchman didn’t quite have the speed to overtake the visitor until the final bend, where he was able to slingshot himself to two points.

Australian duo Doyle and Morris combined once again in the finale and it was an identical outcome to the last time as the Robins made it three consecutive maximums.

Morris signed off another impressive outing with his fourth win of the night and was closely followed by his compatriot in second.

Swindon will now turn their attention to Easter Sunday when they welcome rivals Poole Pirates to the Abbey on their return to league action.

Robins boss Rossiter added: “We have to be on our toes now. It’s a very big meeting against Poole on Sunday and it’ll be a tough one.”