BOSS Neil Middleditch admitted to being "pleasantly surprised" by the manner of Poole Pirates' victory over fellow title hopefuls Glasgow Tigers on Wednesday night.

Second-placed Glasgow came into the meeting on the back of three convincing league victories on the spin.

In contrast, Pirates had picked up just one win from their last six.

But the form book was thrown out the window as Poole powered to a 51-39 victory at Wimborne Road, to move to within one point of the Tigers in the Championship standings.

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"I said it on the track walk, if we’re to have any chance of winning the league, we’ve got to beat teams like Glasgow," said Middleditch.

"And (on Wednesday) we did. To say I’m pleasantly surprised would be an understatement.

"You look down the Glasgow team, they’re solid all the way through.

"But the boys all dug deep. They played their part and that’s what it’s about. It’s a team effort and we were great as a team."

He added: "I was really pleased with the performance."

Leicester look set to top the regular league standings, currently six points ahead of Glasgow.

Pirates have two meetings remaining ahead of the play-offs, looking to finish second, which would give them a pass into the semi-finals.