Eastbourne Eagles last night went the way of every other visiting team to Poole this season.

The double-chasing Sussex squad lost their Elite League match 47-44 to the Pirates, who are unbeaten in ten Elite League matches on their own track.

Even a spectacular gamble in the penultimate race could not save the Eagles.

Skipper Joe Screen and David Norris were brought in as tactical substitutes, with Screen riding as a golden tactical, starting 15m behind the other riders but on double points.

If Screen had won, with Norris second, Eagles would have taken the heat 8-1.

As it was, Norris won the race from Poole reserve Chris Slabon, but the best Screen could manage was third place ahead of Grzegorz Walasek.

It gave Eagles a 5-2 but that proved to be the last throw of the dice for the visitors.

Poole needed only to provide a finisher in the last heat to clinch victory and they rested world champion Tony Rickardsson, who had won all of his four races.

In the event, they got two points through Bjarne Pedersen, who split Mark Loram and Norris.

It was still not a bad effort by Eastbourne but, with Stefan Andersson badly out of form and Toni Svab failing to make his usual contribution from reserve, they were always second best.

The home side led 16-8 before Norris and Loram scored a 5-1 in heat five.

Another maximum by tactical substitute man Loram and Dean Barker in heat nine cut the arrears to two points at 28-26, but that was the closest Eagles got.

Two races later, Poole were ahead 37-29, and the rest, as they say, was history.

Poole: Tony Rickardsson 12, Hans Andersen 9, Bjarne Pedersen 8, Gary Havelock 5, Chris Slabon 5, Tomasz Staszewski 5, Grzegorz Walasek 3.

Eastbourne: Mark Loram 13, David Norris 12, Dean Barker 7, Joe Screen 7, Savalas Clouting 2, Toni Svab 2, Stefan Andersson 1.