HANS Andersen showed his Wimborne Road nightmare was a thing of the past when he scorched to a superb heat 12 win over the Karl-sson brothers as Pirates beat Wolverhampton 48-42 last night.

The Dane - known by Poole Meridian Lifts fans as Little Hans - had all the pressure on him as he lined up at the tapes at the start of the race.

Pirates were 36-30 ahead going into the heat. But Wolves, strongly tipped to win this year's Sky Sports Elite League title, brought out both their big guns to try and cut the deficit to only two.

Had Mikael and Peter Karlsson got a 5-1 over Andersen and an off-colour Mariusz Staszewski, as many in a 3,500 crowd feared, it would have put Poole under strong pressure going into the final three races.

As it was, Andersen never gave the Wolves duo a chance of grabbing a maximum.

Instead, the Dane, who only got two points from his opening three rides, was first out of the gate and then held the Karlsson's dual attack from all angles firmly behind him to take the chequered flag.

It was a fantastic ride at just the right time by Andersen - who is sponsored by Poole Tourism Partnership.

And it gave Pirates the breathing space they required to go on and record a well-deserved 48-42 victory over Wolves - only their third loss of the season.

Poole's fifth straight home league win in a match sponsored by the Daily Echo, also protected their unbeaten Wimborne Road record this term.

It also consolidated the vital fifth place in the table for them in their quest to grab a top five title play-off position.

Andersen, who had struggled badly for Poole earlier this season, said: "I knew Mikael and Peter were both breathing down my neck for all four laps in that race.

"I was really worried they were so close behind me and didn't dare look back to see where they actually were.

"It was like having two sharks behind me, hunting me down. So it was just a case of not looking back and fully concentrating on the job. I was really pleased with my gate in that race and with the fact I chose the right line around the first two bends.

"I'd got out first in heat five but then Mikael drove hard inside of me taking David Howe with him and we lost a 5-1. So I didn't want that to happen again.

"I knew Mikael and Peter were both sides of me - on the inside and the outside lines - so I just rode all over the track.

"It is great to be back in the points and to beat them. It is better to beat the Karlsson brothers rather than lose to reserves, like I did earlier this season."