WAS it worth the wait, you bet your last tuppence it was.

Swindon Robins ended their 17-meeting run of Premiership defeats away from home in spectacular fashion at Foxhall Stadium tonight, defeating Ipswich Witches 37-53.

Furthermore, it's the first time Swindon have won in Suffolk since June 17, 2010 - another monkey off the club's back. 

Troy Batchelor and Tobiasz Musielak were the heroes 479 days ago when the Robins downed Leicester Lions 46-44 at Beaumont Park in April of last year.

And, with the help of skipper Jason Doyle and heat leader Adam Ellis, the pair shined again as the Witches suffered only their second defeat at home of the season.

Victory hasn’t only denied Ritchie Hawkins’ Witches top spot in the Premiership, but it has also lifted Swindon into the play-off frame.

Following Wolverhampton’s loss at King’s Lynn tonight, Alun Rossiter’s septet are now three points clear of their closest play-off rivals – and sit just four points short of table topping Poole.

Facing the Pirates on Monday at Wimborne Road therefore couldn’t come at a better time for Rossiter’s flying Robins, who then host Poole, Ipswich and Peterborough in the space of a week to conclude the month.

With the Robins’ play-off credentials served a huge boost, a delighted Rossiter said: “It was a big win, a really big win. I spoke to the team before and had a calm approach.

“There’s no point me telling them what they’ve got to do, they all know what they have to do.

“We need to start pushing ourselves up the table and cut the gap between ourselves and Wolverhampton – and they all agreed, and they delivered.

“All riders did their part tonight, that’s frustrating thing because I know they are capable of doing it.

“We did the job, and they were all fantastic.”

Robins’ first away Premiership win of the season was ignited by a faultless 5-1 in the opening race of the night – Doyle and Ellis teamed up for a maximum race advantage over Chris Harris and Cameron Heeps.

That was the first of four maximums for Rossiter’s troops throughout the night.

Doyle and Ellis teamed up again in heat five to see of Danny King and Jake Allen before Musielak and Jensen made it a hat-trick of maximums in the penultimate race before the interval.

Leading by 10 points with three heats remaining, the Robins required only a shared race in the standout heat 13 to secure victory.

But Doyle and Batchelor went two better, racing to a fourth Robins 5-1 and securing the club all four points on offer.

A special mention must also go to reserve Ellis Perks. The British youngster scored 4+1 from his five rides, and pushed former British champion Danny King close on two occasions.

Rasmus Jensen endured a tough night – returning with 5+1 from four rides. But in all the evening was a confidence-booster for the Robins, and attention now turns to Monday’s meeting against defending Premiership champions Poole Pirates.

Rossiter added: “We won at Poole at the start of the year, and they do have a good side.

“But why can’t we go down there and pick up some points. I believe we can win down there.

“Team spirit is great – and the big difference for us is that we’ve got a track that has settled down at home.

“It’s a happy camp, and I’ve said for years a consistent track at home makes for happy riders and happy mechanics.”