IT WAS a meeting of two halves as Poole Pirates took all three points at Plymouth to keep their hopes of a top spot finish alive.

Pirates were trailing by six points after heat eight but outscored their hosts at the Coliseum 28-14 in the final seven heats to take a 49-41 win.

The night began evenly, with both sides taking three points in the opening heat, before Plymouth took maximum points from heat two.

Ben Cook then won heat three, with Zach Cook coming in third, leaving the hosts with a 10-8 lead.

The sides were evenly matched as the following four heats all saw a three-each scoreline, before Plymouth took the eighth heat 5-1, leaving Poole with a six-point deficit to close, trailing 21 points to 27.

But a fantastic final seven heats did just that for the visitors.

Heat nine saw Richard Lawson drop his only point of the meeting, as Plymouth’s Dan Thompson out-witted Lawson and Tom Brennan to get between the riders for a second-place finish.

The 4-2 scoreline in the ninth took away only a third of the six-point deficit, and another 3-3 scoreline in the tenth despite a Zach Cook win saw the scores stand at 32-28 in the home side’s favour.

An excellent ride from Paul Starke in heat 11 saw Poole level the meeting at 33 apiece, after stand in manager Danny Ford opted to sit Sam Hagon out.

Dan and Joe Thompson from the Gladiators took a 4-2 win in the twelfth, with Starke superbly splitting the two, but the home side’s lead was restored.

This lead was brief, though, as Pirates went on to drop just one point from the final three heats.

Heat 13 proved to be a dramatic one, as Ben Barker ran into the back of Tom Brennan at the start of the second lap, visibly causing the Poole rider some discomfort.

But the Cardiff wild-card’s battling spirit shone through as he took his place in the re-run and led Lawson home for the 5-1, that gave Pirates their first lead of the night.

Starke’s previous efforts on the night earned him an extra ride in the 14th in place of Ben Trigger, and he converted Zach Cook’s second win of the night into a 4-2, meaning Pirates only needed to avoid a 5-1 in the last.

Zach Cook and Lawson starred again, though, adding Poole’s third maximum heat score of the night to bank all three available league points. PLYMOUTH 41: Dan Thompson: 13 (2,2,3,2,3,1); Joe Thompson: 11+2 (3,1',2',2,RS,1,2); Ben Barker: 7+1 (1',3,2,1,X0,0); Alfie Bowtell: 7+1 (2,0,3,1',1); Jacob Hook: 2+1 (2',F,RS,0,RS,0); Patryk Baek: 1+1 (0,1',R,RS).

POOLE 49: Richard Lawson: 14+2 (3,3,1,2',2',3); Tom Brennan: 10 (2,2,3,3); Zach Cook: 9+1 (1,0,3,3,2'); Paul Starke: 7+1 (R,1',TS,3,2,1); Ben Cook: 6 (3,3,0,0); Ben Trigger: 3+1 (1,1',1,RS); Sam Hagon: 0 (0,0,0,RS).