Robins roar

They clinched the trophy with a solid workmanlike performance in the second leg of the final at Craven Park, Hull, last night (Wedenesday).

Although they went down by six points on the night the Swindon Soft Water Robins still won the cup on aggregate by a massive margin of 22 points.

They had laid the foundations for this night of triumph with a brilliant 59-31 victory in the first leg of the final at Blunsdon last Thursday.

This superb KO Cup success on Humberside re-wrote the Robins history book.

It was the first time since speedway was introduced at Blunsdon in 1949 that Swindon Robins had ever won a national team cup final in their history. Four times previously they had been beaten finalists.

And the cup success last night also ended a 33-year silverware drought.

Swindon's last taste of team glory came way back in 1967, when they won the British League Champion-ship crown.

However, celebrations on Humberside were slightly tainted as Robins skipper Neil Collins missed the post-match jubilation.

Collins crashed heavily into the safety fence in heat ten when he tangled with Hull's Mike Smith on the third bend of lap one.

After a long delay and attention on the track, both riders were taken to hospital.

Collins was believed to have only been badly shaken, winded and suffered severe bruising.

Despite the loss of the skipper the Robins easily overcame being reduced to six riders.

Oliver Allen stepped in to fill the gap in heat 12 and roared to victory, following that up with another success in heat 14.

Allen finished on paid 12 points, a brilliant return from the reserve berth.

Joining him at the top of the Robins scorecharts was David Walsh, who proved to be a shrewd guest booking once again away from Blunsdon.

He reeled-off three race wins in his opening four rides.

In what was always going to be a tough match, solid support for Allen and Walsh came from Martin Dixon, Paul Fry and Mark Steel.

While Collins was forced out of the match, Claus Kristensen was plagued with mechanical trouble.

If any of the large contingent of Swindon fans who had made the long trek to Hull had any doubts that the cup would be coming back to Blunsdon, they were quickly dispelled in the opening five races.

Vikings failed to make any inroads on Swindon's massive 28 point lead from the first leg.

Robins kept the match tight with heats one and two shared. Hull edged in front with a 4-2 in race three but a 4-2 from Walsh and Dixon in heat five levelled matters at 15-15.

Vikings quickly re-gained the upper hand and pulled eight points clear on the night with successive 5-1 maximums in heats seven and eight.

Race eight was shared but a 5-1 from tactical substitute Walsh and Dixon in the next took the scoreline to 29-25 and brought the magical figure of 32 points needed to claim the cup ever nearer.

Hull gained a 4-2 in the re-run of heat ten following Collins' crash and exclusion.

But Kristensen's two points edged Swindon to 27 points on the night.

And the cup was on it's way to Blunsdon after heat 11 as Walsh and Dixon fired-in a 5-1 to hit the 32 point mark and cut Hull's lead to 34-32.

Another 5-1 came in heat 12 as the teenage terrors Allen and Steel combined brilliantly to put Robins into the lead at 35-37.

Hull hit back with two 5-1's in heats 13 and 15 to grab victory on the night. But the evening belonged to Swindon Robins and their fans.

The victory parade sparked scenes of celebration on the back straight where the Robins fans were gathered.

And those fans went even wilder as Robins promoter Pete Toogood received the KO Cup, the champagne corks popped and the team posed for victory photographs.

It was a great night and at last the search for silverware has finally been ended.