Elite League Speedway: Swindon lose out

Swindon moved up to second in the Elite League table despite suffering a 48-42 defeat against Eastbourne at Arlington.

Swindon boss Alun Rossiter was left furious at the end of the meeting clashing with referee Tony Steele. "Tony Steele made three poor decisions that basically cost us. To exclude Troy from Heat 13 was unbelievable. It was a tight first bend and he's come in with tyre marks on his arm because of how close it was, yet the referee has chosen to exclude Troy even though he had nowhere to go. "In Heat 11 Cameron Woodward went down on his own yet was allowed back in the rerun, and that makes the decision to exclude Troy later on even more unbelievable. "Even Trevor Geer (Eastbourne manager) said he would have been angry with those decisions, and for that to come from a guy like him who is normally really calm and well-mannered says a lot. "I'm sorry but it has to be said - that cost us the match. I found it extremely surprising when you consider what a great referee Tony is. "On top of that we're fighting the track man throwing all the dirt over the starting gates to give their riders an advantage. "It was a case of fighting all the elements on one night which made our job pretty impossible, so I suppose it's good to take a point in those circumstances. "After fighting the track man and the referee I'm very angry at the moment."