SWINDON Robins lost the battle but won the war last night in an entertaining conclusion to their two-legged challenge against Somerset Rebels.
Guest Darcy Ward powered home to win a last-heat decider, clinching a 47-43 win on the night for the Rebels.
However, Alun Rossiter’s Robins held a 12-point lead going into the return and duly won 96-88 on aggregate.
Ward was the star of the show for the Rebel’s ‘select’ side, amassing 13 points and three heat victories, and the Aussie was ably supported by Somerset skipper Sam Massing, who also won three races on his way to 12 points.
The Robins’ points were spread more evenly, with new no 1 Troy Batchelor and the consistent Peter Kildemand leading the way. Only Nick Morris struggled, picking up just a single third late in the meeting after coming a cropper and hurting his arm in heat five.
It was a nip and tuck encounter throughout, with never more than six points between the teams, although the Robins were always chasing after Ward and James Wright swept Batchelor and Morris aside for a 5-1 in the first heat.
Kenny Ingalls and Robin Aspegren hit back immediately with a maximum in the next to set the tone in a see-saw battle.
The Rebels began to pull away until Charlie Gjedde’s engine failure when leading heat seven allowed Simon Stead to lead home another 5-1.
But Ward proved the difference, dominating the heat 10 showdown before leaving a slow-starting Batchelor in his wake in the decider.
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