PIRATES team boss Neil Middleditch admitted his side were “taught a lesson” in their resounding 53-37 home defeat against Swindon.

Poole could only muster three heat wins from their second home meeting of the campaign, with Robins trio Jason Doyle, Troy Batchelor and Tobiasz Musielak all doing considerable damage.

Defeat left Poole with just two points from as many meetings in the SGB Premiership Supporters’ Cup.

Middleditch told the Daily Echo: “We were just beaten by a better team. There are no excuses from me.

“Track conditions were difficult but it was the same for both teams.

“Swindon were sharp from the start and we weren’t. It was very hard to get points from the back and they taught us a lesson.

“We need to be firing as a team. Matt (Ford) assembled a team with strength in depth and when we don’t all fire together, we tend to fall short. But when we do fire, we are a good team.

“It just wasn’t a good home result for us. We just have to regroup, some of the boys are struggling to find setups but we were just beaten by a better team.”