Adam Shields kept Eastbourne Eagles on course to win the race for the Elite League with another stunning display on Saturday night.

The latest Australian sensation scored a match-winning paid 11 points but without turning a wheel on the track for the Sussex side!

Eagles had named Shields in their line-up against Ipswich, but he rode for Poole instead after a tug-of-war between the clubs for his services.

Eastbourne boss Jon Cook explained: "Adam told us he was free to ride, but then Poole claimed he had promised to ride for them. It appears it was a genuine mistake on Adam's part. It was six weeks ago and he just forgot."

Eastbourne's loss was Poole's gain as they overturned Coventry, Eagles' rivals for the No. 1 spot, 50-40 on their own track.

Shields figured in three 5-1's and dropped only one point in four rides, while team-mate Tony Rickardsson smashed the Coventry track record.

All of which did Eastbourne a massive favour as they succumbed to one of the shock defeats of the season against Ipswich at Arlington Stadium.

It was a remarkable result for the Witches, who triumphed 46-44 after a last-heat decider on a night of pulsating action.

It was only the next to bottom team's eighth win in 25 matches and only their second away in 13 attempts.

The man who shot down the Eagles was Joonas Kylmakorpi, who was sent packing on loan to the Witches this year after largely failing to fulfill his potential at Arlington.

The flying Finn, who had scored only one point in two previous visits to Eastbourne this season, produced an astonishing display.

His three wins included one in which he out-fought Eagles' skipper Joe Screen, and he was so far in front in another race that he pulled up at the pits gate and mockingly looked into the distance for the man behind him.

Kylmakorpi, who is currently running on a 4.87 average, finished with 14 points, while top gun Scott Nicholls was beaten only once in six outings, and new boy Jarek Hampel weighed in with a paid 11.

It had all started according to the script with Eagles leading by eight points after five heats, and Stefan Andersson winning his first two races en route to his best return since April.

Dean Barker's win in heat 11, when he beat Nicholls and Hampel to foil a tactical bid by the visitors to land a 5-1, looked like being the defining moment of the match.

But Ipswich simply would not lie down. A fired-up Kylmakorpi beat Screen in the next, and when Mark Loram took out Hampel in heat 13, bringing both riders crashing down, Nicholls and Hampel were awarded a 5-1.

When Kylmakorpi blew away everyone else in heat 14, the teams went into the last race level at 42-42.

There was more drama when Kylmakorpi was sent crashing into the boards on the first turn, but he had the final word in the rerun.

Nicholls won it from Loram, while Kylmakorpi held on to the vital third position after going past Barker like a train on the back straight.

Eastbourne: Stefan Andersson 9, Mark Loram 9, Dean Barker 8, Kelvin Tatum 7, Joe Screen 5, David Norris 4, Savalas Clouting 2. Bonus points: Tatum 2, Norris 2, Andersson 1, Screen 1, Clouting 1.

Ipswich: Scott Nicholls 17, Joonas Kylmakorpi 14, Jarek Hampel 9, Craig Boyce 3, Jeremy Doncaster 2, Leigh Lanham 1, Chris Slabon 0. Bonus points: Hampel 2, Boyce 1.