Swindon were edged out 46-44 by Plymouth in their final National Trophy fixture at the Abbey on Thursday.
In-form Sprockets No.1 Zach Wajtknecht completed a superb 15-point maximum in a last-heat decider, but it wasn’t quite enough to prevent an away victory.
Wajtknecht steamed past Devils’ top man Adam Roynon on the second lap for his fifth win of the night, but Roynon held on for the match-clinching second place despite a mid-race scare which brought Dan Greenwood back into contention.
The Sprockets had taken the early advantage thanks to a 5-1 in Heat 3 when Benji Compton was disqualified after a turn three clash which ended with Greenwood in the fence.
But Compton bounced back to record three race wins and with Callum Walker impressing at reserve, the visitors pegged back an eight-point deficit with consecutive 5-1s in Heats 7 and 8.
The scores remained level through five successive shared heats but the Devils made the vital move in Heat 14 with Compton and Walker teaming up for a 5-1 to put their side ahead for the first time.
And despite Wajtknecht’s excellence in the decider, Roynon did enough to ensure the Devils finished the group with four wins out of four as they head into the Final.
Sprockets boss Lee Kilby said: “It was a close meeting and on a different day I think we could have beaten them. But there are no complaints from us, they’re a good side and good luck to them for the Final.
“Zach is in the form of his life, and you can see it his eyes. There’s a different level of aggression there which wasn’t there before, and he’s been superb at this level and was passing information on to everyone – he’s a top man to deal with.
“It’s been nice to have the Sprockets racing again – obviously the Robins have to be our top priority, and this sort of racing has to pay for itself, so we now need to review how these two meetings have gone.
“It’s frustrating because if we’d been in with a shout of qualifying there might have been a few more people here tonight, but we didn’t have that edge to the meeting. I would like to think we’d consider racing at this level in future, and I’ve very much enjoyed it – it’s been a great experience.”
Swindon’s attention now returns to SGB Premiership matters with high-flying Wolverhampton in town next Thursday (June 29).
SWINDON 44: Zach Wajtknecht 15, Dan Greenwood 8+1, Layne Cupitt 8+1, David Mason 7, Taylor Hampshire 4, Lewis Whitmore 2+1, David Wallinger r/r.
PLYMOUTH 46: Callum Walker 12+2, Adam Roynon 12, Benji Compton 10+1, Luke Priest 7+1, Richard Andrews 4+2, William O’Keefe 1+1, Henry Atkins r/r.
