COVENTRY are starting to become something of a bogey team for Poole, especially around their own Wimborne Road circuit.

The buzzing Bees, who won at Poole last season, returned for a second helping to withstand a late fightback from the Pirates and clinch a deserved Elite League success.

Poole were never in front on the night and though they managed to claw level at 30-30 after heat 10, Coventry replied with back-to-back 5-1s to open up an eight-point cushion with three races remaining.

It left Poole a mountain to climb, and although they gave it their best shot, they fell short in losing out by four points.

Coventry had won all their opening three meetings of 2003 and were quickly into their stride to supply the first three heat winners.

Billy Hamill trapped ahead of Leigh Adams in heat one, Stuart Robson muscled inside Andre Compton on the last two turns to catch David Ruud on the line in two, and ex-Pirate Lee Richardson fronted a Bees 4-2 in heat three when Ryan Fisher battled past Bjarne Pedersen for third place.

Tony Rickardsson finally stemmed the surge of Coventry winners by sweeping to victory in heat four, but the Pirates were denied a possible 5-1 when Compton's bike failed in second place behind the World Champion on lap two.

Coventry extended their lead to six points when Hamill claimed his second victory of the night in heat five, and only a gutsy pass from Lukas Dryml, who recovered from a sluggish start to reel in Billy Janniro denied the visitors a 5-1.

Poole themselves packed a maximum position in heat six, but Adams, trying to team ride with Krysztof Kasprzak, seemed surprised by Andreas Jonsson's overtake, with Coventry's Swedish star then chasing the young Pole to the finish line.

When Richardson out-trapped Rickardsson to leave him in his wake in heat seven, and Fisher nicked third place off Ruud, the alarm bells were ringing for the Pirates.

Coventry led 24-18, and had provided five of the seven heat winners.

Pirates boss Neil Middleditch opted to use Adams in place of Compton as a tactical substitute in heat eight, and the Aussie did the business in winning the race, though Kasprzak managed to pass Jason Bunyan but couldn't find a way under Janniro, despite an aggressive full-scale attack.

Jonsson left it late to wind himself up to spilt Pedersen and Dryml on the line in heat nine, Pedersen following a couple of early duck eggs with his first points of the night.

The 4-2 left Pirates only two points adrift and when Richardson fell in last place on turn three in heat 10, having missed the start, it left Adams and Kasprzak with the chance to level the scores with another 4-2 in the re-run but only after 19-year-old Fisher had led Adams for two laps.

But the comeback was put on hold when both Hamill and Janniro finished ahead of Rickardsson in heat 11 - the Pirates skipper within a fag-paper of dead-heating for second with Janniro - and Richardson and Robson were first and second home in heat 12.

The pressure was now on, but Rickardsson and Adams teamed up for a classy 5-1 in heat 13, and a 3-3 in 14, after Fisher and Robson had relegated Pedersen to the back, left the Pirates needing a 5-1 in the final showdown for a draw.

Richardson made another rocket-start, but though Rickardsson found the drive to overhaul him and record his third win of the meeting, Hamill was in front of Adams further back and the two Bees riders won the day with a shared race.

HEAT DETAILS Poole: 1 Leigh Adams 11+1 (2-1-3-3-2*-0), 2 Krysztof Kasprzak 5 (0-3-1-1) 3 Lukas Dryml 6 (2-2-1-1), 4 Bjarne Pedersen 3 (0-0-3-0), 5 Tony Rickardssson 12 (3-2-1-3-3), 6 David Ruud 5 (2-0-0-3), 7 Andre Compton 1+1 (1*-E-0). Coventry: 1 Billy Hamill 11+1 (3-3-3-1-1*), 2 Billy Janniro 6+1 (1-1-2-2*) 3 Lee Richardson 11 (3-3-X-3-2), 4 Ryan Fisher 6 (1-1-2-2), 5 Andreas Jonsson 6 (2-2-2-0) 6 Stuart Robson 6+2 (3-0-0-2*-1*), 7 Jason Bunyan 1+1 (0-1*-0) . Referee: Mick Posselwhite Heat details - Ht 1: HAMILL 59.4, Adams, Janniro, Kasprzak 2-4. Ht 2: ROBSON 61.4, Ruud, Compton, Bunyan 5-7. Ht 3: RICHARDSON 60.2, Dryml, Fisher, Pedersen 7-11. Ht 4: RICKARDSSON 59.8, Jonsson, Bunyan, Compton (ef) 10-14. Ht 5: HAMILL 60.3, Dryml, Janniro, Pedersen 12-18. Ht 6: KASPRZAK 60.3, Jonsson, Adams, Robson 16-20. Ht 7: RICHARDSON 59.8, Rickardsson, Fisher, Ruud 18-24. Ht 8: ADAMS 59.8, Janniro, Kasprzak, Bunyan 22-26. Ht 9: PEDERSEN 60.7, Jonsson, Dryml, Robson 26-28. Ht 10: ADAMS 61.6, Fisher, Kasprzak, Richardson (f, exc.) 30-30. Ht 11: HAMILL 61.2, Janniro, Rickardsson, Ruud 31-35. Ht 12: RICHARDSON 60.7, Robson, Dryml, Compton 32-40. Ht 13: RICKARDSSON 60.0, Adams, Hamill, Jonsson 37-41. Ht 14: RUUD 61.5, Fisher, Robson, Pedersen 40-44. Ht 15: RICKARDSSON 60.8, Richardson, Hamill, Adams 43-47