SHOULD Pirates go on to retain the Elite League crown, it is likely they will look back on Good Friday with fond memories.

As the pundits will rightly say, the title is never won in April. This, however, could prove to be a defining Easter for Poole Coastal Aluminium.

There will be many more twists and turns, thrills and spills and highs and lows during what promises to be another enthralling campaign.

And on the evidence of this absorbing double header, Pirates followers would do well to guard their season tickets with their lives.

It remains to be seen just how crucial Darcy Ward’s stunning tactical ride in heat 10 at Brandon will prove in the final reckoning.

There is no question his heroics rescued victory from the jaws of defeat for Pirates, hauling back the majority of a 10-point deficit in one fell swoop.

Just for good measure, Ward repeated the feat, albeit for fewer points, when he again accompanied Dennis Andersson to a vital 5-1 as Poole took the lead for the first time at Wimborne Road after heat nine.

It was a display of selfless team riding from the Aussie as he superbly shepherded Andersson to the chequered flag, the pair holding off Scott Nicholls and Adam Roynon to inflict more misery on the Bees.

The visitors, already scarred by their fruitless mission in the Midlands, must surely have seen what was coming as rampant Pirates went on to claim victory in the final six heats, even if the scoreline may have been hard on the Bees.

As the contest ebbed and flowed during the early exchanges, Pirates benefited from a catalogue of misfortune for Coventry’s luckless Dane Kenni Larsen. His mysterious tumble in heat three gifted Andersson third place, while mechanical gremlins in heat seven and eight also earned Pirates points they had probably not bargained for.

It would be unfair to take too much away from Poole’s all-round team performance, epitomised when Todd Kurtz showed his mettle to follow home Ward in the penultimate heat, the reserve valiantly holding off the strong challenge of Edward Kennett.

Chris Holder led from the front, the captain making his intentions known from the start when he left Chris Harris and Henning Bager trailing in his wake in heat one, the first of five canny wins from the Aussie ace.

After Coventry had nosed in front following the opening three heats, honours remained even until Andersson and Ward put the hosts on cloud nine…in heat nine.

Among the highlights of the earlier races, Kurtz was eventually worn down by Scott Nicholls in a heat-four thriller, while Harris controversially prevailed following an epic duel with Ward in heat five, the Brit winning his Ashes battle with the Aussie and condemning the teenager to his first defeat of the day.

Chris Holder continued to help Pirates establish a lead when he dived hard under Kennett to triumph in heat 10 before Andersson won a head-bobber with Larsen to take heat 12 as Pirates had it all their own way in the closing stages.

Come the end of the season – and if the champagne corks are again popping – Good Friday will be remembered as the day Pirates took a giant step towards claiming back-to-back titles. Only time will tell.

Pirates 52: 1 Chris Holder (3-3-3-3-3) 15, 2 Ricky Kling (0-0-2-1) 3, 3 Dennis Andersson (1-1*-3-3) 8+1, 4 Darcy Ward (3-2-2*-3-2*) 12+2, 5 Adrian Miedzinski (3-2-3-0) 8, 6 James Holder (0-1*-0) 1+1, 7 Todd Kurtz (1-1-1*-0-2*) 5+2. Team manager: Neil Middleditch.

Bees 38: 1 Chris Harris (2-3-2-1*-0) 8+1, 2 Rider replacement, 3 Kenni Larsen (fell-fell,ex-rtd-0-2) 2, 4 Edward Kennett (2-3-2-1) 8, 5 Scott Nicholls (2-2-1-2-1) 8, 6 Adam Roynon (3-0-1*-0-1*) 5+2, 7 Henning Bager (1*-2*-0-3-1*-0) 7+3. Team managers: Colin Pratt and Blayne Scroggins.

Ht 1: C Holder, Harris, Bager, Kling, 60.12 (3-3) Ht 2: Roynon, Bager, Kurtz, J Holder, 60.13 (4-8) Ht 3: Ward, Kennett, Andersson, Larsen, 59.88 (8-10) Ht 4: Miedzinski, Kennett, Kurtz, Bager, 59.87 (12-12) Ht 5: Harris, Ward, Andersson, Roynon, 59.44 (15-15) Ht 6: C Holder, Nicholls, Roynon, Kling, 59.72 (18-18) Ht 7: Kennett, Miedzinski, J Holder, Larsen, N/A (21-21) Ht 8: Bager, Kling, Kurtz, Larsen, 61.22 (24-24) Ht 9: Andersson, Ward, Nicholls, Roynon, 60.85 (29-25) Ht 10: C Holder, Kennett, Kling, Larsen, 60.35 (33-27) Ht 11: Miedzinski, Harris, Bager, J Holder, 60.31 (36-30) Ht 12: Andersson, Larsen, Roynon, Kurtz, 60.78 (39-33) Ht 13: C Holder, Nicholls, Harris, Miedzinski, 60.00 (42-36) Ht 14: Ward, Kurtz, Kennett, Bager, 61.56 (47-37) Ht 15: C Holder, Ward, Nicholls, Harris, 60.81 (52-38)