Robins captain Leigh Adams scored 14 points in a losing effort (Les Aubrey)

Poole Pirates' 58-35 home win over Swindon has all but ended the Robins hopes of claiming a top two place in the Elite League.

The top of the table Pirates were never in trouble, with only Leigh Adams and Jurica Pavlic providing much in the way of opposition for the visitors.

Robins manager Alun Rossiter told BBC Radio Swindon: "I'm bitterly disappointed with this performance.

"There were too many last places and the gating again was atrocious."

We've got to do a bit of soul searching, sort ourselves out and concentrate on finishing third Alun Rossiter

Poole now have a seven point lead over Lakeside at the top of the Elite League, with Swindon a further four points off the pace.

Rossiter is now looking at fourth placed Ipswich who are five points behind but with three meetings in hand.

He said: "We've got to do a bit of soul searching, sort ourselves out and concentrate on finishing third at least otherwise all the hard work we've done this year will go to waste."