SWINDON Robins advanced to the semi-final stage of the Knockout Cup where they will face King’s Lynn Stars, the Advertiser understands.

Alun Rossiter’s men slipped to a 51-39 loss against Rye House Rockets in Hoddesdon tonight, but won comfortably on aggregate following the club’s 59-31 first leg win at home on Monday.

A tie against King’s Lynn for a place in the Grand Final awaits Rossiter’s troops, and the Swindon boss admitted his team must settle quickly into the meeting if they’re to make a final appearance.

Rossiter said: “It will be a tough meeting, hopefully we’re a bit more settled now and have a few more meetings under our belt.

“We should be okay.

“It was a matter of getting the job done in the second leg.

“I could’ve put Zach (Wajtknecht) in heat 14 but I’m trying to get Jack Smith going.

“It was one of those nights, it was very hard.

“Passing was at a minimum.”

Robins were rattled early on as four race advantages in the opening five heats for Rye House cut Swindon’s aggregate lead from 28 to only 16 with 10 heats still remaining.

A composed Robins camp regrouped though and were boosted by the late form of Troy Batchelor and Adam Ellis, who were both rewarded for their efforts with appearances in heat 15.

“The atmosphere was okay (after heat five),” said Rossiter.

“We were all getting dialled in because the track was like riding on concrete, there was nothing there.

“You can see Rye House have the setup nailed on with the way the track is.

“It was like watching tractors going around tonight, to be quite honest.

“Zach (Wajtknecht) did well tonight.

“Jack’s struggling a bit, but that’s to be expected.”

Rossiter admitted his side were caught out by early track conditions as the Rockets made the most of their home track advantage.

Tight first turns appeared to benefit the hosts, but Robins performed much better in the second half of the meeting to hold onto their lead.

“Everybody is happy, we didn’t have to bust a gut tonight,” said Rossiter.

“We just had to get the job done.

“Rye House were getting closer, if it had been league points on the night our performance may have been a bit different.

“But that’s not taking anything away from them, they were dialled in before us which is expected, they’re the home team.

“It was all from the gate though, there was minimal racing.

“That’s not making excuses, but next time we know what to expect.”

Swindon are next in action on Monday night against the Somerset Rebels in SGB Premiership action.

World Champion Jason Doyle will make his return to the Abbey after leaving the Robins during the off-season, and Rossiter hopes the Australian international will receive a good reception.

He said: “Monday will be good with Jason (Doyle) back in town, he should get a good reception.

“But we can’t focus on him, we’ve got to focus and do our job. Hopefully we can do that.”