EASTBOURNE'S attempt to take a second top-flight scalp in quick succession narrowly failed at the Abbey Stadium tonight.

The Eagles, Elite Shield victors at Poole late last month, pushed title favourites Swindon Robins all the way before succumbing to a 49-41 loss.

The visitors led the meeting early on but, despite 12 from Lewis Bridger and an excellent paid 12 from reserve Simon Gustafsson, the home side's greater firepower told late on.

Eagles grabbed an early lead as Gustafsson and Ricky Kling teamed up to clinch a maximum points haul in the second heat.

Bridger maintained the four-point lead by winning a ding-dong battle with his Great Britain team-mate Simon Stead in the next and Gustafsson and Lukas Dryml then snuffed out a potential Robins' 5-1 in four as they filled in behind runaway home winner Troy Batchelor.

Despite a good start though, Dryml could not hold off Swindon skipper Leigh Adams in six as the hosts cut the deficit to two points and it was all square when Bridger was caught by Batchelor on lap two of seven, Woodward tailing off to retirement at the back.

The meeting took a decisive turn against the Eagles in nine as Dryml and Kling were comprehensively seen off by Stead and previously off-colour Pavlic, but Bridger and Woodward prevented further damage by grabbing the minor placings behind Adams in 10.

And the exclusion of Norris in 11, after he fell and took out Swindon's Krzysztof Stojanowski, didn't help their cause as Batchelor beat Watt to stretch the home advantage to six.

However, Bridger and Gustafsson - in for Kling - teamed up for a heat 12 maximum to ensure the gap was back to two, only for Watt and Dryml - the former eventually retiring - to get completely outgunned by the home star duo of Adams and Batchelor.

And the Eagles' fading hopes of victory were finally extinguished as Woodward and Gustafsson could only fill second and third behind and improving Jurica Pavlic.

Surprisingly, Eagles' boss Trevor Geer chose to send out Dryml in heat 15 and it arguably cost his men a deserved losing bonus point as Bridger split Adams and Batchelor, but failed to keep the deficit to within six.

SWINDON ROBINS: Leigh Adams (3-3-3-2*-3) 14+1, Travis McGowan (0-1-3-0) 4, Simon Stead (2-3-3-1-) 9, Jurica Pavlic (1*-0-2*-3) 6+2, Troy Batchelor (3-3-3-3-1) 13, Krzysztof Stojanowski (1-1-1-0-0) 3, Cory Gathercole (0-0-0) 0.

EASTBOURNE EAGLES: Davey Watt (1*-1*-2-R) 4+2, David Norris (2-2-2-FX-) 6, Lewis Bridger (3-2-2-3-2) 12, Cameron Woodward (0-0-1*-1*) 2+2, Lukas Dryml (1*-2-1-1-0) 5+1, Ricky Kling (2*-0-0-) 2+1, Simon Gustafsson (3-2-1*-2*-2) 10+2.