Belles of the ball! (From Swindon Advertiser)

Belles of the ball!

8:30am Tuesday 7th July 2009 in

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SWINDON Robins saw off plucky Belle Vue at Kirkmanshulme Lane last night to take their ninth straight Elite League win and maintain their place at the summit.

Against a side that featured former Blunsdon riders Charlie Gjedde and James Wright, Robins suffered a disastrous start.

The visitors found themselves on the end of two maximums from the home septet, with Krzysztof Kasprzak and Kevin Doolan both taking wins.

But the Robins weathered the storm as they recorded two 3-3 draws. First, Simon Stead and Travis McGowan slotted in behind Robins asset Morten Risager from the gate, and then the in-form Matej Zagar sped to his first heat victory of the night.

The visitors hit back with a maximum of their own as Leigh Adams led in former Aces rider Simon Stead, before Zagar came out on top in a terrific duel with Kasprzak, as Robins reduced the deficit to four points.

Gjedde sealed a 4-2 for the hosts but Robins came roaring back, as Ryan Fisher and McGowan notched up a maximum and then Zagar romped to his third top spot of the night.

Kasprzak gave Aces the edge following heat 10 but after a brief interval, due to fears of an impending downpour, Robins went ahead for the first time.

Adams led in Fisher as the visitors claimed their third maximum, ahead of Gjedde and Doolan.

Fisher and McGowan then took first and third as Robins increased the advantage to 38-34, before Adams’ triumph and Zagar’s no-score meant the visitors were still four ahead going into the final two heats.

Stead delivered a timely race win and Fisher came in third, meaning the same result in heat 15 would ensure maximum points for the visitors.

And not content with just delivering the required 4-2, the Zagar-Adams double act gave another superb final race performance, to force Kasprzak and Gjedde into third and fourth place respectively.

Swindon Robins boss Alun Rossiter was delighted with the result but admitted it was a big occasion for young prospect Richard Sweetman, and a tough decision to replace him twice during the latter part of the meeting.

“It was obviously going to be tough for him. It was a big ask for him tonight, so I had no real alternative but to replace him,” said Rossiter “We won the toss in heat 15. Matej had a good gate and Leigh was awesome. I am really delighted with the victory especially after the way we started which had me a bit on edge.”