DANNY Ford praised a "solid team effort" from Poole Pirates, as they eased to a 55-35 victory over Birmingham Brummies.

Despite the comfortable final result, Pirates had to dig in to power clear from a lead of just two points after seven heats, to eventually win it by 20 after a heat 15 maximum at Perry Barr.

Heat leader trio Danny King (12), Richard Lawson (11+2) and Steve Worrall (10+1) all produced double-figure returns, with guest Tom Brennan (10+1) standing out for the hosts.

"Just like they did in our home match, Birmingham made things tough for us early on as they stuck to us and didn't allow us to build up a lead," promoter Ford told Pirates' website.

"I don't think the final score truly reflected the tightness of the meeting.

"But I was pleased to see our lads dig deep and kick on as the meeting progressed, as I had hoped.

"It was a solid team effort and it was good to see both Ben (Cook) and Nathan (Ablitt) return a couple of decent performances especially after they had tough ones at Glasgow as it will serve as confidence boosters for them.

"We have put ourselves in a good position now as we head into a more home meetings than away ones over the forthcoming weeks."

Victory lifts Pirates up to second in the Championship table, behind Leicester Lions on points difference, with a meeting in hand.