An unchanged Swindon Town paid the ultimate price for playing only one half of football at Plainmoor and kissed goodbye to their 15 match unbeaten run in the process writes Daniel Hunt.

The nine-day rest between this and the Morecambe win made a mockery of the phrase ‘hectic Christmas period’ and Torquay were worth their half time lead as a stuttering Town side failed to get out of the starting blocks. Inspired by the introduction of Ronan Murray and a Di Canio rollicking at the break, a one-sided second half followed but Swindon failed to turn their territory and possession into shots on target and Martin Ling’s men hung on for a Boxing Day win that leaves them only three points behind Town in 10th place in League Two.

It was surprising to see Di Canio name an unchanged side given how well Ronan Murray finished the last game next to Jake Jervis against Morecambe. According to the terms of their loan deals, Liam Ridehalgh and Jake Jervis were potentially starting their last games in Swindon Town red. Taiwo Atieno’s 34th minute winner was only the third goal Town have conceded in Ridehalgh’s eleven starts since joining from Huddersfield in October. This incredible record shows why signing Ridehalgh on loan until the end of the season will be vital in the January transfer window.

The future of Jake Jervis is far more unclear despite a respectable record of five goals in 12 starts from the Birmingham youngster. His first half strike partnership with Lukas Magera was one of the reasons why Swindon were so ineffective in the opening 45 minutes. Time and time again the Torquay centre-halves, Robertson and Ellis, out-battled and out-headed their taller opponents leaving Swindon with no base from which to build attacks.

A lot of credit in the first half must go to a competitive Torquay United team who were missing two key players in Rene Howe and on-loan Swindon man Billy Bodin. Paolo Di Canio hinted in his post-match interview that Bodin would have a chance to impress him when he returns to Wiltshire on the 8th January as part of a ‘five-man strike force’. Our Italian manager might be missing a trick; am I alone in thinking that Bodin junior would be best employed on the left hand side of midfield?

Torquay played nice football when they had the ball and hassled Town all over the pitch when they didn’t. It was clear that Martin Ling had sent his side out to play with high energy and it was the first time I’ve seen Simon Ferry and Jonathan Smith look flustered in the middle of the park for a long time. Even the unflappable Aden Flint had a rough afternoon against the impressive Atieno – it had to happen one day folks!

Although the impetus was definitely with Torquay in the first half, Wesley Foderingham wasn’t being overly troubled in the Swindon goal. The closest the Gulls came before scoring was a low effort saved by Foderingham from Lee Mansell in the sixth minute and a shot that forced a smart block off the line from Flint just before the half hour.

When the goal did come in the 34^th minute, it was from a poorly defended cross following a cleared corner. A number of heads went up but the ball found itself at the feet of Atieno who smashed home from four or five yards on the half volley. Foderingham’s reactions were not quite quick enough as he could only palm into the roof of the net in front of the Swindon faithful.

Town would occasionally wake from their first half slumber to muster several efforts on goal. Lukas Magera clumsily wasted a good opening in the 22nd minute, failing to get a shot away following a poor first touch. Aden Flint was the main threat from set pieces but his two headed chances went over and wide under pressure from Torquay defenders. It was Bournemouth’s wanted-man, Matt Ritchie, who had the best chance to draw Swindon level in first half stoppage time though. His low shot brilliantly deflected over by yet more determined Torquay defending.

The second half was much better from Di Canio’s men, almost all Swindon Town, which left me and a thousand other fans wondering why it had taken so long for Town to put their stamp of authority on the game?

Ronan Murray replacing Magera played a large part in this because despite his small stature, the on loan Irishman was dropping deep to get quality possession to chest and feet – something Jervis and Magera had failed to do. I remember a similar line of argument when Rory Fallon was at the club; that the presence of big men up front gives team mates the all too easy option of pumping it long, whereas having a Murray type striker up front encourages the team to play more football as a whole.

For all of Swindon’s second half pressure though, the BBC stats make grim reading – Gulls stopper Bobby Olejnik only had two shots on target to save in the whole match! The first of these was a push round the post from Matt Ritchie in the 54th minute after the ex-Portsmouth man had cut in from the right hand side. The second was a quality save down low to deny Murray his third goal in five substitute appearances. A cross from the right was miskicked at the near post by Jonathan Smith and the ball eventually broke to Murray who was excellently denied by Olejnik. In all honesty, Smith’s was the better chance and he will be very disappointed he didn’t connect with the ball.

Three minutes after clearing a goal-bound header off his own line, Murray was in the thick of the action once again in the 82nd minute. The diminutive Irishman turned Ellis on the edge of the box only to be stopped by a tug from the Torquay defender. Upon deciding that a foul had been committed, referee Steve Tanner should have produced a red card for Ellis and there was even a case for arguing that the offence had taken place in the penalty area. Tanner bottled it and a free-kick and yellow card followed. The resulting free-kick was struck at the wall by Ritchie and with it seemed to go Swindon’s chances of grabbing something from the game.

All over the pitch, Swindon players were guilty of wasting good positions. It was an especially frustrating afternoon for the normally effective Caddis and Ritchie combination. They were guilty of trying one pass too many or choosing to cross on their weaker foot for example. Town fans shoudn’t get too downbeat though, the run of fifteen games unbeaten had to come to an end sometime. We’re in a great position in 7th considering our disastrous start to the League Two season. Ignoring August, the last 17 league games have produced 10 wins, 4 draws and an average of 2 points per game – promotion form the last time I checked.

Next up for Swindon’s thousand-strong army of travelling fans is the trip to Northampton Town on New Year’s Eve.

Aidy Boothroyd has yet failed to oversee a transformation in fortunes at Sixfields since his appointment as manager on the final day of November. In fact, the struggling Cobblers have drawn only two matches in the last eleven since their victory over Barnet on the 1st October. There are no easy games in the football league and the Aidy Boothroyd sides I’ve seen in the past have played direct football and had a never-say-die attitude – I expect more of the same on Saturday! Look forward to seeing you there but in the meantime I hope you’ve had a Merry Christmas despite the result down on the English Riviera…

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