SWINDON won the meeting, were pulled back and then won it for a second time as the Buildbase Bees were beaten at home for the first time this season.
In the first half of proceedings, there appeared to be only one winner as the Robins adapted better to conditions and reeled off a string of 4-2s, leaving Bees desperately looking to inject any kind of spark.
When the home side's tactical ride move failed, Swindon appeared to be cruising, only for a spectacular Coventry comeback to evoke memories of the 2007 Knockout Cup Final.
On this occasion, though, there was to be no fairytale ending as former Coventry man Simon Stead produced the goods in Heat 15 with visiting skipper Leigh Adams just behind in second place for a match-clinching 5-1.
Bees looked unlikely to take things anywhere near that far as they fell adrift in the early stages - quite literally in the case of Ben Barker, who held second place in Heat 1 until spinning on an icy third bend and being disqualified from the re-run.
As in the first staging of the race, Adams reigned supreme with Chris Harris recovering from a tardy getaway to switch inside Travis McGowan at the end of the first lap.
Another Swindon 4-2 followed in Heat 2, Ryan Fisher taking a not-unexpected win and Ricky Wells slipping off in his pursuit of Krzysztof Stojanowski - and, like buses, the 4-2s continued in the next race thanks to a fast win from Jurica Pavlic ahead of a chasing Edward Kennett, who almost got too close on the last lap which cost him valuable momentum.
Stead was third in that race but his night would get much better, and in the meantime as Troy Batchelor retired from Heat 4 after being overtaken by Rory Schlein, Fisher was keeping the Robins in control with another win having moved Schlein wide in the early stages.
Still the visitors' winning run continued in Heat 5 as Adams just got the drop on Kennett, with McGowan holding on for another third place - and although Harris finally got a win for Coventry, which must have been some relief, in Heat 6, Barker locked up on turn two which always left him with an uphill battle to catch Stojanowski.
And when Stead held off Schlein's inside challenge by half a wheel in a blanket finish to Heat 7, the Robins had moved into a ten-point lead and were coasting.
When to play the tactical ride? Not in Heat 8, with Barker having not scored a point to that stage, although he duly became the first rider to beat Fisher, with a win - and the status quo was maintained as McGowan held Jordan Frampton at bay for third place.
Heat 9 appeared the best opportunity for a major heat advantage, with Kennett handed black and white - but the tactical ride offers no guarantees, and so it proved on this occasion as although Allen, previously with zero points, made the start and held on for a win, Kennett was squeezed out on the run to the bend with Batchelor and Fisher registering a 3-3 which was ideal for the visitors.
That could have been Coventry down and out, but their response was to gather momentum in a fascinating comeback - started by Harris and Barker both making fast getaways in Heat 10 for a surprisingly straightforward 5-1 over Stead and Pavlic.
And just when all seemed lost in Heat 11 as McGowan gated well and was shepherded around by Adams, there was a dramatic turn of events as McGowan made a slight error at the start of the last lap and suddenly handed the fast line to Schlein, who gratefully accepted the chance to move past both Robins in one memorable, crowd-pleasing move.
It kept Bees in with an outside chance, even though Stead maintained a six-point lead for his team with a win over Allen and Frampton in Heat 12, but the pressure on the visitors grew in Heat 13 with Schlein this time leading Adams into turn one and holding the advantage, Harris switching back inside Batchelor on the second lap to cut the gap from six to four.
And the comeback was all-but complete in a stunning first half-lap of Heat 14 as Kennett rode the outside to pass Pavlic - and as Fisher went too wide, Frampton cut back and moved through superbly into second place to set-up a last-heat decider with the scores poised at 42-42.
On this occasion, the coin toss was vital and Robins' boss Alun Rossiter had little hesitation in plumping for 2 and 4, with Stead handed the outside gate as both sides chased a heat advantage.
And just as with Adams and Tomasz Chrzanowski in the first Brandon meeting between the sides two years ago, it went Swindon's way - as Stead surged off gate four and was never seen by his opponents whilst Adams sized up the situation, got the better of Harris on the back straight and then drove hard inside Schlein on the second lap to move into second place... game over.
A fascinating contest which boiled up into an unexpected climax - not the result the Buildbase Bees desired this time, but lessons to learn, more challenges to face, and much more racing to do before medals are handed out.
BUILDBASE BEES 43 Chris Harris 2 3 3 1 0 = 9 Ben Barker X 0 3 2* = 5+1 Olly Allen 0 R 3 2 = 5 Edward Kennett 2 2 0^ 3 = 7 Rory Schlein 1* 2 3 3 1 = 10+1 Ricky Wells 0 0 F = 0 Jordan Frampton 2 2 0 1* 2* = 7+2
