Eastbourne Eagles dived to a 48-42 defeat in their Elite League match at Swindon last night.

The Sussex side were in contention until the penultimate heat when Rafal Kurmanski and Andy Smith raced to a maximum win over Joonas Kylmakorpi.

It was the second time Swindon's recent Polish signing had figured in a crucial 5-1, the other occasion being a shock win over David Norris and Kylmakorpi in heat seven.

But for Kurmanski's intervention, Eastbourne might have got something out of the match.

The home side started with a 5-1 by Leigh Adams and David Ruud, but Eagles hit back in heat three to level the scores through Kylmakorpi and Norris.

Swindon led by six points in the middle of the match, but the gap was down to two again when Adam Shields and Peter Ljung bagged a 5-1 in heat 11, this time with Kurmanski on the receiving end.

Nicki Pedersen finished last in heat 13, but he had the last word in heat 15 when he inflicted the only defeat of the night on Adams, passing the Swindon ace on the last bend.

Swindon: Leigh Adams 15, David Ruud 9, Andy Smith 7, Rafal Kurmanski 7, Glenn Cunningham 5, Steve Johnston 5. Bonus points: Adams 2, Smith 2, Cunningham 2, Johnston 1.

Eastbourne: Nicki Pedersen 11, Adam Shields 10, David Norris 8, Joonas Kylmakorpi 7, Peter Ljung 4, Matt Read 2. Bonus points: Ljung 3, Norris 1, Kylmakorpi 1.