REVENGE is supposed to be a dish best served cold, not soaking wet.

Conditions during the early stages of this meeting at the Abbey Stadium were nothing short of treacherous.

Heavy downpours before tapes-up had left parts of the track submerged under water with the presence of the Sky cameras likely to have been influential in the meeting going ahead.

Second-placed Swindon certainly mastered the conditions better than Poole Coastal Aluminium, deservedly running out convincing victors to turn up the heat on the Elite League leaders.

Robins skipper Hans Andersen saved their best until last, his breathtaking exploits in the finale ensuring the hosts would reverse the 49-41 defeat they suffered at Wimborne Road in early June.

With Krzysztof Kasprzak having cried off on the eve of the meeting with a back injury, Pirates were under the cosh even before track staff had worked tirelessly to ensure the clash would get the green light.

The late withdrawal of the Pole had prompted Pirates promoter Matt Ford to describe the visitors’ task as “mammoth” as they headed to Wiltshire bidding to avoid only a second league defeat on the road.

Writing in his programme notes, opposite number Alun Rossiter knew victory for the Robins may give them a psychological edge as the rivals joust for positions in the end-of-season play-offs.

“I don’t believe anything will be won or lost here tonight but it would certainly be nice to put down a marker,” wrote Rosco.

Swindon hit the sodden ground running when Jason Doyle maintained his impressive form to lower Chris Holder ’s colours in a rather gingerly-contested opening heat.

Dawid Lampart recorded a facile victory in heat two, with Sam Masters following him home as the hosts edged into a 7-5 lead. Pirates new boy Linus Eklof experienced an inauspicious start when he took a tumble on the final turn.

The Robins completed a hat-trick of race wins when Troy Batchelor pegged back Dennis Andersson and Darcy Ward to land the spoils in heat three, another pedestrian contest.

Masters broke the Robins monopoly when he gated smartly and was never headed in heat four. He easily held off Lampart and Peter Kildemand, while Eklof’s miserable night continued when he was left at the start.

Ricky Kling excelled himself to take the chequered flag by a short head in heat five, the Swede showing his mettle to keep Troy Batchelor behind him, with Holder chipping in for a 4-2.

However, Swindon nudged ahead when Kildemand got the better of Ward and doggedly stuck to his task to earn the hosts a 4-2 in heat seven before Kling was forced to work hard to separate Doyle and Lampart in heat eight.

Ward dived hard under Simon Stead on the second lap to land the spoils in heat nine before Nick Morris sprung a surprise when he swept round Holder at the start of heat 11 and held on to claim a memorable scalp.

The first and only maximum of the night came in heat 13 when Andersen and Kildemand teamed up to leave Pirates staring down the barrel before Morris sealed victory for Swindon with a win in the penultimate heat.

And after Kildemand had been excluded, Andersen rubbed salt into Pirates’ gaping wounds when he wore down Ward on the final lap to win a thrilling finale.

Swindon 49: Hans Andersen (rtd-3-3-3-3) = 12, Jason Doyle (3-0-3-0) = 6, Simon Stead (0-0-2-1*) = 3+1, Troy Batchelor (3-2-1*-fell) = 6+1, Peter Kildemand (1*-3-0-2*-exc) = 6+2, Nick Morris (1-1-3-3) = 8, Dawid Lampart (3-2-1-2) = 8.

Pirates 41: Chris Holder (2-1-2-0-1*) = 6+1, Ricky Kling (1*-3-2-1*-1) = 8+2, Darcy Ward (1*-2-3-1*-3-2) = 12+2, Dennis Andersson (2-2-0-2-1*) = 7+1, Rider replacement for Krzysztof Kasprzak, Sam Masters (2-3-1*-0-0-2) = 8+1, Linus Eklof (fell, ef-0) = 0.

Ht 1: Doyle, Holder, Kling, Andersen (rtd), 68.39 (3-3) Ht 2: Lampart, Masters, Morris, Eklof, 69.71 (7-5) Ht 3: Batchelor, Andersson, Ward, Stead, 68.96 (10-8) Ht 4: Masters, Lampart, Kildemand, Eklof (ef), 70.59 (13-11) Ht 5: Kling, Batchelor, Holder, Stead, 69.49 (15-15) Ht 6: Andersen, Andersson, Masters, Doyle, 69.23 (18-18) Ht 7: Kildemand, Ward, Morris, Andersson, 68.30 (22-20) Ht 8: Doyle, Kling, Lampart, Masters, 70.72 (26-22) Ht 9: Ward, Stead, Batchelor, Eklof, 68.93 (29-25) Ht 10: Andersen, Andersson, Ward, Doyle, 68.46 (32-28) Ht 11: Morris, Holder, Kling, Kildemand, 68.77 (35-31) Ht 12: Ward, Lampart, Stead, Masters, 69.83 (38-34) Ht 13: Andersen, Kildemand, Kling, Holder, 68.61 (43-35) Ht 14: Morris, Masters, Andersson, Batchelor, 69.58 (46-38) Ht 15: Andersen, Ward, Holder, Kildemand (exc), 69.09 (49-41) Last night’s other Elite League results: Belle Vue 47 Birmingham 43, Peterborough 61 Lakeside 32, Wolverhampton 47 Eastbourne 42.