Eastbournes Eagles are back on the title track after beating Wolverhampton for the third time in 15 days at Arlington Stadium on Saturday night.

Eagles were twice behind in the early stages but in the end this latest triumph, by 51 points to 39, was further evidence of why the Sussex squad will probably finish top of the Elite League and Wolves certainly will not.

Before their cup semi-final double-header, the showdown was billed as a clash of the heavyweights, but in truth only one team punched their weight in the three matches.

Eagles had three riders on paid 14-point returns on Saturday, another in double figures, and even the distraction of skipper Joe Screen packing up in two races with mechanical problems proved of no consequence.

Mikael and Karlsson found some support from the fast-gating Adam Skornicki, but once again the K-men underlined the fact that Wolves are virtually a two-man team.

In three trips to Arlington this season, the Swedish brothers have amassed 81 points. The rest have conjured up a paltry 30 between them.

Jesper B. Jensen again failed miserably, beating only Savalas Clouting twice in five outings, while things were so bad for out-of-form Paul Hurry that the Sussex champion was withdrawn from his last ride.

The sides traded blows after the only two shared heats of the night, with Wolves providing the winners of four of the first five races.

The visitors led 10-8 after three races, 16-14 after five, were level 21-21 with seven heats gone and eight to go and still trailed by only four points at 38-34 three races from the end.

But it all flattered Wolves, who huffed and puffed but never looked like blowing Eastbourne's house down.

Mikael Karlsson and Skornicki picked up a 5-1 in heat five when Screen retired, but either side of that there were maximums first by Dean Barker and Toni Svab and then David Norris and Mark Loram.

The match was settled between heats eight and ten when Eagles bagged a hat-trick of 5-1's through Norris and Svab, Screen and Barker and Loram and Norris.

Tactical substitute appearances by the Karlsson brothers sparked back-to-back 5-1's in the next two races, but Loram inflicted Mikael Karlsson's first defeat in heat 13, while Barker kept Skornicki at the back.

Norris, the rider replacement for Stefan Andersson, reportedly out with a recurrence of a groin strain, and Svab, a tactical switch for Clouting, raced to another 5-1 in heat 14, and that was that.

When Loram and Svab bagged a 4-2 over the Karlssons in the finale, with Svab holding off Mikael Karlsson until the last lap, Eagles topped the 50-point mark for the 12th time this season.

Eastbourne: David Norris 13, Mark Loram 12, Toni Svab 11, Dean Barker 9, Joe Screen 5, Savalas Clouting 1. Bonus points: Svab 3, Loram 2, Norris 1, Barker 1, Clouting 1.

Wolverhampton: Mikael Karlsson 15, Peter Karlsson 12, Adam Skornicki 8, Paul Hurry 2, Jesper B. Jensen 2, Chris Neath 0. Bonus points: Mikael Karlsson 1, Peter Karlsson 1, Skornicki 1.