SWEDISH stunner Freddie Eriksson vigorously fought his corner after a controversial exclusion in Poole's big Elite League loss at Wolverhampton last night.

Eriksson's double-figure return would have been even bigger but for his heat 14 exit at Monmore.

The reserve ambushed the home side's Kenneth Hansen, slipping through on the inside as they came off the fourth bend and nosing.

But heavy contact as they shaped to take the next corner saw Hansen rear and plough heavily into the air fence, demolishing one of the posts. He was taken to hospital after complaining of hip pain.

It looked a simple racing incident, but referee Dave Watters excluded the Poole man.

"It definitely wasn't my fault. I tried to get my line and I did it pretty good," maintained Eriksson afterwards.

"I had passed him already when we passed the finish line but he didn't see me probably as we came into the corner.

"He didn't want to get passed so he leaned down on me pretty hard and there's nothing you can do when you get to that point in the corner."

Team boss Neil Middleditch saw it the same way. "It's a nasty looking accident but it was just a racing incident, there wasn't any malice or anyone to blame," he said.

"Two riders came together going for the same piece of track."

Middleditch had a busy night as rider-replacement, Zibi Sucheki's struggles - though the reserve stuck to his task throughout -- and Karol Zabik's mechanical woes left him with more holes than he had Eriksson rides with which to plug them.

"I was very pleased with how we were doing. I think up to heat 11 we were still in with a shout and then the wheels came off a bit," he said.

"Rider-replacement gave us two points and I think Adam would have got a lot more than that."

Skipper Bjarne Pedersen again rode without his neck brace, struggled by his own high standards and found it hard to put his finger on how the match had slipped away.

"Everybody was working hard in the pits but I feel everything turned against us," he said.