TEAM boss Neil Middleditch described as “a job well done” Poole Pirates’ victory at Plymouth Gladiators in the BSN Series.

Even defeat at the Coliseum could have been enough for Poole to progress into the semi-finals, needing only an aggregate bonus point to top the standings, having beaten Plymouth 58-32 in the home fixture.

But Pirates went one better, sealing a 47-43 win on the night, with impressive performances from Richard Lawson (14), Tobias Thomsen (8+2) and Ben Cook (8).

Reflecting on the win, Middleditch said: “That was a job well done

“It was all good. A bit eventful with one thing or another, but there are always fireworks between Plymouth and Poole, which is good for the interest of the crowd.

“But we got the job done and that was the main thing.

"We came here wanting to win. Yes, we knew we would be through if we hit 33, but you have to go out with the mindset of wanting to win and you can't take things easy on this track.

“Small tracks are very hard to ride, you have to ride them harder than the big tracks, but we applied ourselves well. We wanted to win and we got it.”

He added: "We saw some good stuff from Tobias. First time at the track and he was a bit tentative the first time out, but then he really got going and was really attacking it, and that is how you ride Plymouth.”

Ben Cook’s progress was hampered by a controversial exclusion from his fourth ride for missing the two-minute timer on a re-run, rushing to the tapes on his brother Zach’s bike, after his was damaged after he fell coming out of the start.

“Poor Ben had his bike wrecked in that heat 13 incident, which was a big shame because he was having a real good night and then it was a silly accident, when he lost it like he did,” said Middleditch.

“These bikes don't tend to bounce very well, and when they do bounce they bend as well!"