CAPTAIN Danny King admitted Leicester were only too keen to exact their revenge on reigning champions Swindon.
The Watling JCB Lions ran out 48-42 winners over the Robins, the only club to have won at the Paul Chapman and Sons Arena in the SGB Premiership this season.
The hosts led by 10 points from heats 5-7 and withstood a fightback that saw the visitors reel off a hat-trick of 4-2s in heats 8, 9 and 10.
The two sides battled to 3-3s in heats 11, 12 and 13 before Leicester made sure of victory, leaving Swindon chasing a bonus point at the death.
Hans Andersen and Krystian Pieszczek were on course for a 5-1 in heat 15 that would have prevented that, but Pieszczek fell and was excluded.
Andersen was Lions’ top performer with 12 points on the night and skipper King, who chipped in with six, was delighted with the performance.
He said: “At one point, we were 10 points up and they clawed it back to four, then the pressure came onto us but we managed to hold on.
“Swindon beat us right at the last before and we didn’t want that to happen again, so it was nice to seal the win in heat 14. We didn’t give up and we kept fighting.
“It was a good victory, shame about the last heat with one of our riders getting excluded but that’s the way it goes.
“They needed a 3-3 to get a point and we were on for a 5-1, our two went for the same bit of track and, unfortunately, Krystian came down. There’s no brakes and it happens.
“We knew Swindon would be tough, their top performers seem to like our track, but we can’t afford to be losing here. We seemed to have nipped that in the bud.”
LEICESTER 48: Hans Andersen 12+1, Krystian Pieszczek 9, Kenneth Bjerre 7+2, James Sarjeant 7+1, Danny King 6, Kyle Newman 4, Todd Kurtz 3+1.
SWINDON 42: Troy Batchelor 15, Tobiasz Musielak 7+2, Adam Ellis 7, Nick Morris 7, Zach Wajtknecht 5, David Bellego 1, Jack Smith 0.
