THE Basingstoke Bison’s play-off hopes were dashed last Saturday as the Herd plucked defeat out of the jaws of victory, writes Graham Merry.

This was after the Swindon Wildcats came back from 4-2 down to win 5-4 hitting the winner 26.6 seconds from the final buzzer.

The following night the Herd gained quick revenge with a 4-2 win over the same opponents in Wiltshire, to finish level on points with Sheffield in the group, but missed out on a place at Coventry due to an inferior head-to-head record.

Bison player/coach Ashley Tait said: “The weekend was indicative of our season, we were in a winning position and lost the game. It was very disappointing to end that way.”

Tait talking about the campaign as a whole said: “In some areas we over achieved and in others we under achieved. We certainly were not helped by the amount of injuries we sustained and also the games we lost from winning positions.”

The play-off finals in Coventry this weekend start with the semi-finals on Saturday.

Telford take on Sheffield at 1.30pm followed by Peterborough against Milton Keynes from 5.30pm. The winners of both games play in the final on Sunday.