Hammers nail Eagles to go top

Jonsson: Lakeside star

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Lakeside Hammers moved to the top of Elite League standings as they maintained their immaculate home record with a 56-37 victory over Eastbourne Eagles.

There was always a bit of edge to an entertaining encounter at Arena Essex that saw plenty of restarted heats and some hard-fought racing despite the one-sided scoreline.

Swede Andreas Jonsson was the star of the show for the Hammers as he bagged 13 points, while Great Britain's Scott Nicholls was equally impressive although his 16-point haul for the Eagles was ultimately in vain.

The contest was close until heat eight at which point Lakeside led 23-19, However, the hosts then picked up three consecutive 5-1 wins (Leigh Lanham/Ricky Kling, Jonas Davidsson/Adam Shields and Jonsson/Lanham) to open up a lead their opponents never looked like closing.

Nicholls responded by winning heat 11 on double points, but the Hammers kept the damage to a 6-3 and then wrapped up victory on the night in heat 12 as former Eagle Shields and Ricky Kling secured another 5-1.

In the final heat of the night, Jonsson got the better of Nicholls in a superb clash to put the seal on a fine night both himself and his team who remain unbeaten at home this season.

Swindon lose, Belle Vue win

Elsewhere, Swindon lost ground at the top of the table as they crashed to a one-point defeat at basement boys Wolverhampton.

Trailing by nine points after 13 heats, the Robins gave themselves a chance to steal an unlikely win as Leigh Adams helped claim an 8-1 in heat 14 to reduce the deficit to one point.

However, despite another win for Adams in the last, Swindon came up just short, despite a hugely impressive debut from Croatian Jurica Pavlic (11 points), losing 47-46.

In the night's other clash, Jason Crump (12+2) inspired Belle Vue to a 48-42 triumph over Ipswich that damages the Witches play-off hopes.