Inspirational form from Poole-based Adam Shields at Wimborne Road helped maintain Eastbournes push for Craven Shield Final victory.

Shields, who lives in the town, followed up his first leg score of ten points at Arlington with 11 more in the second leg last night.

But the Eagles face a massive battle if they are to clinch the trophy in the third leg at Oxford tonight (7.15pm).

Fast-gating Shields was not beaten until his final race when Oxfords Freddie Eriksson out-gated him and scorched to the chequered flag.

Before then, Shields had reeled off three successive wins, beating Poole guest Billy Janniro and Grzegorz Walasek, the big Pirates scalp of Bjarne Pedersen and Robert Kosciecha, then Oxfords Travis McGowan and Billy Hamill.

Shields top-scored for Eastbourne on a night when Nicki Pedersen also weighed in with ten.

But it was not enough for the Eagles to match the Silver Machine, who triumphed at Poole with 39 points, to take a precious four-point advantage into the final leg.

Shields won from the tapes in heat three, then spectacularly beat Bjarne Pedersen in race six to get a 4-2 over the Pirates with Dean Barker.

The Aussie scorched outside of Travis McGowan on the second bend to win heat 11 before Eriksson denied him a maximum in race 17.

It was still a good night for Eastbourne and a 5-1 in the final race would have taking them to within one point of Oxfords tally last night, level with the Silver Machine on aggregate.

But Ricky Ashworth produced a major shock by out-gating Eagles guest Mark Loram and grabbing a 5-1 with Sebastian Ulamek for Poole instead.

It leaves Eastbourne, who travel to Cowley with the same side tonight, still very much in with a shout of lifting the Craven Shield.

But they will have to produce something special.

Pirates: Pedersen 10, Kosciecha 3, WalaseK 4+2, Janniro 7, Ulamek 8+1, Ashworth 3. Oxford: Hancock 3+1, McGowan 3+1, Eriksson 5+1, Iversen 8, Hamill 9+1, Gustafsson 6+2.

Eastbourne: Shields 11, Barker 2+1, Watt 3+1, Loram 7+1, Pedersen 10, Moore 1.