MATT Ford got the injection of commitment and enthusiasm he had demanded as Poole Pirates got the better of high-flying Swindon in their own backyard.

The performance was not perfect and it came at a price as Adam Ellis suffered a broken collarbone but signs of progress and, most importantly, the resolve required to claim a first away victory of 2016 were in bountiful supply.

A healthy crowd coupled with a pleasant Bank Holiday afternoon made for an ideal setting but Swindon, who had racked up more than 50 points in five straight victories prior to last week’s draw at King’s Lynn, did not make life easy.

Chris Holder looked assured having been restored to his customary number-one position and belied a couple of shaky rides to register a crucial score of 11, including his match-winning heat 15 victory.

Averages resulted in a reshuffle of the team order with captain Hans Andersen at five and Ellis, elevated to a second-string role, wearing two.

Holder hit the front early in heat one and comfortably kept the in-form Jason Doyle at bay but despite a strong start, Ellis was passed by both Robins in a share of the spoils.

Brady Kurtz and then Charles Wright jumped the first two attempts at heat two but Kyle Newman and then Kurtz passed Stefan Nielsen to fight back for a Poole 5-1.

Andersen was harshly adjudged by referee Chris Gay to have moved at the line having gated beautifully in heat three but Krzysztof Buczkowski sailed round the swift-starting Dane as Pirates plundered a second maximum in the re-run.

Bjarne Pedersen ended up in the fence after a tight first corner in heat four with all four recalled to the tapes and the veteran dusted himself down, avoiding the cluster to steam round the outside and hold off Nick Morris to take the chequered flag.

Swindon hit back with their own 5-1 after some track grading as Pirates asset Josh Grajczonek saw off pressure from compatriot Kurtz to protect winner Nielsen.

And the meeting was all square when top guns Holder and Andersen were beaten to the chase by Rohan Tungate and Nick Morris, the former just staying in front of Holder in a tense dash for the finish line.

Robins made it three in a row with Sedgmen backed by a masterclass in team riding from Doyle, waltzing into a four-point lead in heat seven.

But the tide turned again when Morris was penalised for a tapes offence and sent back 15 metres for the restart of heat eight.

His luck was clearly out as he was held up by team-mate Wright in the re-run, fell and brought Ellis down in a collision that ended the Ringwood-based star's afternoon. Kurtz was awarded the victory.

Heat nine proved to be the race of the afternoon with Pedersen and Newman seemingly getting in one another’s way before blitzing past Grajczonek at the end of turn two.

The Aussie ultimately reclaimed second from Pedersen but Newman’s win was enough to restore parity.

Kurtz was sent out for Ellis in heat 10 and it paid off with the rookie hitting the front with Holder in support.

In trying to protect his team-mate, Holder got passed by Sedgmen but battled back and raced to the front with Kurtz maintaining second for a maximum.

Swindon were penalised again in heat 11 when, with Andersen in front, Doyle locked up and caused backmarker Buczkowski to fall. Grajczonek squeezed out Buczkowski in the re-run but Andersen steamed round the outside to take a valuable 4-2.

After a nip-and-tuck start to heat 12, Poole’s reserves found themselves sandwiched with Nielsen maintaining the lead throughout.

Newman just held off Wright at the back for a 3-3.

Heat 13 brought another disappointment for Holder and Andersen as they were beaten to the gate, conceding a maximum that cut back Poole’s lead to just two.

Buczkowski locked up in heat 14 but recovered to pass Tungate and Pedersen for a share of the spoils.

With the match in the balance, Andersen and Holder were entrusted with making it third time lucky after a pair of ineffective rides together.

The Aussie ace didn't disappoint, holding off Doyle at the start to secure the required three points in spite of Andersen, second for a long time, being pushed to the back.

Steve Worrall will guest for the injured Adam Ellis on Wednesday. 

STAR RIDER - BRADY KURTZ

THE much-vaunted rookie may be going about his business quietly but the importance of his scores is growing as quickly as his stature.

Calm, in control and with decent pace, Kurtz made sure he took something from each of his five heats and handled the pressure of the chasing pack with relative ease.

Comparisons with Darcy Ward are perhaps premature for now but the continued rise of the Australian champion should not be taken lightly.

RIDER SCORES AND HEAT DETAILS

Swindon Robins 44:

1 Jason Doyle (2-2*-x-3-1*) 8+2

2 Josh Grajczonek (1*-2*-2-2) 7+2

3 Rohan Tungate (0-2*-r-0) 2+1

4 Nick Morris (2-3-fx-3-2) 10

5 Justin Sedgmen (1-3-1-2*) 7+1

6 Stefan Nielsen (1-3-0-3) 7

7 Charles Wright (0-1*-2-0) 3+1

Team manager: Alun Rossiter.

Poole Pirates 46:

1 Chris Holder (3-1-3-1-3) 11

2 Adam Ellis (0-0-1) 1

3 Krzysztof Buczkowski (3-1-1-2) 7

4 Bjarne Pedersen (3-0-1-1*) 5+1

5 Hans Andersen (2*-0-3-0-0) 5+1

6 Brady Kurtz (2*-1-3-2*-2) 10+2

7 Kyle Newman (3-0-3-1*) 7+1

Team manager: Neil Middleditch.

Ht 1: Holder, Doyle, Grajczonek, Ellis, 65.90 (3-3)

Ht 2: (re-run x2) Newman, Kurtz, Nielsen, Wright, 67.71 (4-8)

Ht 3: (re-run) Buczkowski, Andersen, Sedgmen, Tungate, 66.65 (5-13)

Ht 4: (re-run) Pedersen, Morris, Wright, Newman, 67.05 (8-16)

Ht 5: Nielsen, Grajczonek, Kurtz, Ellis, 66.90 (13-17)

Ht 6: (re-run) Morris, Tungate, Holder, Andersen, 66.18 (18-18)

Ht 7: Sedgmen, Doyle, Buczkowski, Perdersen, 66.74 (23-19)

Ht 8: (re-run) Kurtz, Wright, Ellis, Wright (excluded), awarded (25-23)

Ht 9: Newman, Grajczonek, Pedersen, Nielsen, 67.90 (27-27)

Ht 10: Holder, Kurtz, Sedgmen, Tungate (retired), 67.68 (28-32)

Ht 11: (re-run x2) Andersen, Grajczonek, Buczkowski, Doyle (excluded), 68.27 (30-36)

Ht 12: Nielsen, Kurtz, Newman, Wright, 68.96 (33-39)

Ht 13: Doyle, Sedgmen, Holder, Andersen, 67.89 (38-40)

Ht 14: Morris, Buczkowski, Pedersen, Tungate, 68.55 (41-43)

Ht 15: Holder, Morris, Doyle, Andersen, 68.23 (44-46)