PIRATES were in benevolent mood last night as they twice threw away eight point leads to lose at home for only the second time this season (August 18).

Poole RIAS, beaten 49-46 by Eastbourne in the Elite League at Wimborne Road on June 30, forged 13-5 ahead after three heats and were 34-26 in front with only five races left.

But the Robins, inspired by 17-point Aussie ace Leigh Adams, coped better with a wet track and rainy conditions to finish the stronger of the two sides.

Adams and Charlie Gjedde capped their comeback with a comprehensive 4-2 over Bjarne Pedersen and Matej Ferjan in a last-heat decider that gave Swindon an unlikely victory.

Pirates, with Ryan Sullivan, Daniel Davidsson and Antonio Lindback all producing below-par performances, went into that race clinging on to a narrow 44-43 advantage.

When Pedersen gated in front and entered the first corner in the lead, it looked as though he and Ferjan, who had also trapped well from gate four, might hold on to clinch victory for Poole.

But Adams had other ideas.

He produced a classy first bend manoeuvre to push Pedersen and Ferjan wide so that Gjedde could roar up the inside and past both Pirates on the second bend.

Adams jetted past Pedersen at the same time, so it was he and Gjedde who led down the back straight.

Pedersen dived hard under Gjedde to pass him on the fourth bend to grab second place.

But the Poole rider still needed to catch and pass Adams, or Ferjan had to find a way past Gjedde, for Pirates to salvage a 3-3 and a one-point team success.

Neither man could catch their Swindon rivals, though.

And it was the Robins who returned home to Wiltshire with their first win at Poole since July 1998, when they defeated Pirates 48-42 in the league.

With Davidsson, Sullivan and Lindback clearly struggling, the lightning gating of Pedersen and Ferjan, backed up by solid support from Krzysztof Kasprzak and Magnus Zetterstrom still looked as though it would be rewarded by a Poole win.

Pirates appeared comfortable after Ferjan and Lindback had bagged a 5-1 over Steve Johnston in heat nine and Pedersen and Kasprzak triumphed 4-2 against Gjedde and Craig Boyce in the next race.

But Adams outgated Sullivan in heat 11 to roar to a vital tactical rider win and with Andy Smith pegging Davidsson behind him to grab third, Swindon slashed Poole's eight-point lead to three.

Ferjan dived under Boyce on the third bend to win heat 12 and with Zetterstrom third, Pirates went 40-35 in front.

But Adams overtook Pedersen on the second bend of race 13 and with Johnston twice passing Sullivan to get third, Swindon continued to apply the pressure.

Lindback swept under Peter Ljung on the second lap of heat 14 to grab second behind Gjedde, otherwise Pirates would have gone into the final race 44-43 behind themselves.

Swindon might only have been ahead for the first time on the night after Adams' thrilling last heat heroics, but they fully deserved their triumph.

Indeed, the only positive to be gleaned from Poole's lack-lustre performance was that it wasn't a league match.

Pirates: 1 Bjarne Pedersen (3-1-3-2-2) 11, 2 Krzysztof Kasprzak (1-3-2-1) 7, 3 Matej Ferjan (3-2-3-3-0) 11, 4 Antonio Lindback (1-0-2*-2) 5+1, 5 Ryan Sullivan (0-2-2-0) 4, 6 Daniel Davidsson (2*-0-0-0) 2+1, 7 Magnus Zetterstrom (3-1-1*-1) 6+1.

Team manager: Neil Middleditch.

Swindon: 1 Leigh Adams (2-3-6-3-3) 17, 2 Andy Smith (0-1-0-1) 2, 3 (guest) Craig Boyce (2-1-0-2) 5, 4 Charlie Gjedde (0-3-2-3-1) 9, 5 Steve Johnston (2*-2-1-1) 6+1, 6 Oliver Allen (1-0-0-0) 1, 7 Peter Ljung (0-3-3-1) 7.

Team manager: Alun Rossiter.

Referee: Mike Posselwhite.

Ht 1: Pedersen, Adams, Kasprzak, Smith, 59.08 (4-2).

Ht 2: Zetterstrom, Davidsson, Allen, Ljung 60.20 (9-3).

Ht 3: Ferjan, Boyce, Lindback, Gjedde, 59.20 (13-5).

Ht 4: Ljung, Johnston, Zetterstrom, Sullivan, 60.07 (14-10).

Ht 5: Adams, Ferjan, Smith, Lindback, 58.54 (16-14).

Ht 6: Kasprzak, Johnston, Pedersen, Allen, 60.10 (20-16).

Ht 7: Gjedde, Sullivan, Boyce, Davidsson, 61.33 (22-20).

Ht 8: Ljung, Kasprzak, Zetterstrom, Smith, 61.45 (25-23).

Ht 9: Ferjan, Lindback, Johnston, Allen, 60.40 (30-24).

Ht 10: Pedersen, Gjedde, Kasprzak, Boyce, 60.00 (34-26).

Ht 11: Adams (tactical rider, double points), Sullivan, Smith, Davidsson, 59.22 (36-33).

Ht 12: Ferjan, Boyce, Zetterstrom, Allen, 60.46 (40-35).

Ht 13: Adams, Pedersen, Johnston, Sullivan, 59.32 (42-39).

Ht 14: Gjedde, Lindback, Ljung, Davidsson, 60.95 (44-43).

Ht 15: Adams, Pedersen, Gjedde, Ferjan, 60.07 (46-47).

Last night's other results, Elite League: Arena-Essex v Oxford (postponed, rain), Belle Vue v Ipswich (postponed, rain).

Tonight's fixtures, Elite League: Ipswich v Belle Vue, Swindon v Arena-Essex.