A late swoop by Swindon Robins scuppered Oxford Cheetahs' hopes of an opening night victory in this challenge match at an icy cold Oxford Stadium last night.

Until the final stages, the home side gave as good as they got.

It was only after the interval that the Robins stepped up a gear and finished with three succesive 5-1's to give them victory by a slightly flattering scoreline.

Promoter Aaaron Lanney said: "We were doing okay until that lost few heats, but then things went against us.

"Some of the riders were testing engines and that's what these challenges are all about.

All eyes were on world champion Tony Rickardsson making his Cheetahs debut and he didn't disappoint in his opening rides.

He blasted to a sub-58 second time in his first heat, leaving Leigh Adams in his wake, before Lee Richardson showed him who was really boss with a faultless 12-point maximum including two wins over the Swedish star.

The Oxford squad, who went so well in practice on a flat, smooth surface, found the track gripping a lot more and consequently took time to sort it out.

One who didn't cope that well was Swedish newcomer Eric Andersson, but he improved in his final two rides, while Adam Pietraszko made a winning debut taking heat two in good style.

Skipper David Howe can be happy with his first meeting, scoring paid eight despite crashing with nobody near him in the final heat.

But rider of the night was Adam Skornicki, who took full advantage of a rare Adams engine failure to win heat nine and celebrate with the customary 'donut' spin.

Davey Watt was on the pace to score paid nine.

There was little to choose between the teams up to heat eight, but a 5-1 from Skornicki and Watt edged Cheetahs ahead 29-25, a four-point lead they held to the break.

From then on there was only one team in it as the Robins whacked in 23 points to Oxford's seven in the last five heats.

Oxford: Rickardsson 9, Davey 7+2, Howe 7+1, Skornicki 7+1, Pietraszko 4, Andersson 3+1, Tomicek 1. 39 pts.

Swindon: Richardson 12, Adams 10, Ulamek 8, Correy 8, Alden 5, Kornelliuessen 5, Miedzinski 3. 51 pts.