RIAS Pirates' double dreams remain alive after they eased through to the Knockout Cup final, despite a 53-40 second leg semi-final defeat at Swindon.(October 7)

After Wednesday night's 61-30 first leg triumph at Wimborne Road, it would have taken a disaster of cataclysmic proportions for Pirates to have slipped out of the competition.

And despite a much improved performance from the Robins, it never looked as if it would be enough to reel in Neil Middleditch's men.

Poole remained in touch throughout and up to heat 11, the match remained in the balance before three 5-1's in the last four heats gave the Blunsdon faithful a healthy victory to cheer in their last meeting of the season.

But for Pirates, the hard work has just begun as they now face their three pivotal matches of the season in the quest for back-to-back Elite League and Knockout Cup doubles.

Wolves visit Poole Stadium on Monday for the second leg of the league play-off final, Pirates leading by eight from the first leg.

And the following week, they face Ipswich over two legs as they bid to retain the Knockout Cup, the Witches having ousted Arena-Essex 97-85 in their semi-final.

Pessimists among the away support last night pointed to the fact that Pirates had lost two of their last three away meetings by more than 30 points as means of dismissing complacency.

But the visitors always had enough in the tank and solid displays throughout the first three-quarters of the match ensured any whiff of an upset evaporated swiftly into the chilly air.

That they did remain in contention, however, was almost entirely due to the rampant Krzysztof Kasprzak, enjoying himself at the expense of his parent club, and Ryan Sullivan, exhibiting more encouraging signs of recovery from his hand injury.

The pair both netted invaluable paid double points tallies as their team-mates struggled to raise their game with the safety net of such a comfortable first-leg cushion.

Matej Ferjan provided brief dashes of flair and probably deserved more than his paid seven return for some daring rides, while Bjarne Pedersen and Antonio Lindback both appeared to be holding plenty back for the more important challenges ahead.

Leigh Adams and Charlie Gjedde dominated for the hosts, Gjedde in particular banishing a nightmare display the night before with an exhilarating 13-point show.

But Sullivan provided the highlight for Poole in heat 13 when he burned out of the gate to bury both Adams and Gjedde in his wake on his way to a tactical ride six pointer.