Swindon at Shrewsbury: The opposition view
Sam Morris provides the Shrewsbury Town perspective of Saturday’s encounter at The Greenhous Meadow.
It was the battle of the STFC’s at Greenhous Meadow on Saturday and thankfully, on my behalf, it was Shrewsbury who came out on top against Swindon.
It was an intriguing game. Paolo Di Canio’s men had clearly come to Shropshire with a game plan to really take the game to Shrewsbury and put them on the back foot.
For the first 45 minutes it worked. Swindon were knocking the ball around for fun and looked by far and away the better team. Their standout players for me were Matt Richie, who scored an impressive goal to give the Robins the lead, and Lander Gabilondo, who never stopped trying.
Shrewsbury just couldn’t get their game going and Swindon weren’t allowing them any time on the ball to settle into their own style. 1-0 up and comfortable, Swindon more than deserved their half time lead.
However, whatever Di Canio, or his opposite number Graham Turner, said to their sides at half time saw an almost complete role reversal in the second half.
Shrewsbury started to dominate the midfield battle and Swindon looked powerless to resist the incessant barrage of attacks coming at them.
Despite this, Shrewsbury took their time in forcing a clear chance. But when they did, they made sure they took it, although questions will have to be asked of Phil Smith in the Swindon goal after his poor attempt at saving Lionel Ainsworth’s shot.
Once the game was level, there was only going to be one winner, with Swindon players’ heads dropping and the confidence clearly sapping away. The winner again came thanks to some poor defending, leaving 6 foot 5 Marvin Morgan unmarked at the back post to nod home an Ainsworth cross – not the best idea!
So, it really was a game of two halves, and if Swindon had played the 90 minutes like they did the first 45, they would have comfortably won this game.
I was impressed by their first half performance, and despite all their new signings, thought they looked a good unit and a strong side. But once the equaliser came, their confidence disappeared and their appetite for the game vanished.
I think Swindon will still be up there come the end of the season, especially once all their players have totally settled in and adapted to the English style, but they need to put an end to their poor league form as soon as possible.
Read ‘The Washbag’ Match Report – STFC at Shrewsbury
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