After a lengthy absence, Neilsen ‘The Overseer’ returns, helping me out with a match report of our 2-1 victory over Rotherham United.

A quick-fire brace of Matt Ritchie thunderbolts just before the midway point of the first half at Rotherham proved decisive in ensuring that Swindon retained in their nostrils the scent of League Two’s current pacesetting trio. Such moments of individual quality as meted out here by the mercurial winger can make all the difference in the tight games and this factor again turned out to be pivotal; in what was a stern examination of STFC’s promotion credentials.

Whilst the caviar of Town’s recent cup exploits may have whet the palate considerably, Di Canio will no doubt have reiterated to his players the importance of them keeping their feet on the ground and maintaining their focus on the bread and butter of the league. Of vast importance given that immediate ascension back up to the third tier must be the ultimate priority this season.

Rotherham’s temporary home, The Don Valley athletics stadium, didn’t necessarily represent your run of the mill[ers] footballing arena. What with swathes of empty seats abound, plus the running track placing a metaphorical chasm between the fans and the players. However this intriguing assignment would still be deemed an important battlefield upon which to assert a victory to serve as a veritable warning-shot to the entire league. The background image of the steeplechase lingered in my mind perhaps portraying that a significant hurdle was overcome with clinical efficiency on a day when Swindon could’ve tripped and fallen into icy waters.

Not afraid to freshen things up, Paolo utilised the proverbial baby-wipe by giving both Oliver Risser a run-out (at the expense of Jon Smith) in midfield, in addition to rewarding Billy Bodin’s fruitful loan stint on the Riviera with a striking berth alongside ‘The Shin of God’ Paul Benson. It was no great shock to the system to see Joe Devera installed at centre-half given that Alan McCormack was serving the first game of a two-match ban.

As naff as it undoubtedly is to band around clichés like “a game of two halves”, that is essentially what we witnessed at the Don Valley. STFC bossed the bulk of the first half, mostly by means of their slick, incisive passing from where telling counter-attacks could spring. Benson’s head had already gone close to providing Town with satisfaction before Ritchie’s juicy pair enlivened proceedings considerably just before quarter-time. The Rotherham keeper Taylor evidently hadn’t heard of the ex-Pompey conjuror possessing a left foot like a traction engine. He remained rooted to the spot on 19 minutes when a clearance fell straight to Shane’s brother just outside the right edge of the penalty area; Ritchie applied ‘the Matt finish’ by lamping a sumptuous half-volley into the bottom right hand corner of the net to send the 500 or so Town supporters into raptures.

No sooner had the travelling faithful taken their seats than they were right back up again, experiencing a rapid hint of déjà-vu as Ritchie repeated the feat within 90 seconds of the restart. Replays have shown there was a whiff of a deflection off a centre half’s bosom for Take Two, deceiving the ‘keeper in the process. Yet that should not diminish the calibre of the lad’s second strike which fair fizzed into the top left hand corner to put collective Rotherham chins on the floor and STFC 2-0 to the good.

Swindon travailed through to half time still with only minimal Miller menace giving them anything to think about, one pea-roller dribbling limply into Foderingham’s gleeful arms and a couple of über-speculative 20-yard spanks flying emphatically over the bar like an extra in a Jackie Chan movie.

It was however a different animal which confronted Town come the second period. Evidently goaded by an Andy Scott rollicking which must’ve included a clear directive for his lads to get at STFC down the flanks and whip crosses into the box to test Swindon’s mettle. Indeed, the half was not even ten minutes old when this tactic paid dividends with that man Alex Revell living up to his surname as he so irritatingly tends to when playing us. He headed home from close range to bag approximately his 74th goal against the Town since we terminated his largely unproductive loan spell at SN1 two and a tad years ago.

With the deficit halved and the pendulum having undeniably swung, Swindon now knew to batten down the hatches what with the bombardment all set to intensify. Thankfully the panic button wasn’t fully deployed and ‘The Red & Black Attack’ opted not to totally eschew their core beliefs as they still sought to weave some sassy interplay into proceedings as a means to alleviate the pressure, abiding by the old adage that attack is the best form of defence.

Nevertheless, with Paul Benson ploughing a largely lonely furrow upfront, the Town rearguard continued to face sustained barrages. This was especially so when our rumoured transfer target Lewis Grabban went alarmingly close to enforcing parity with a rocket of a shot that caned off of Cannon-Foderingham’s right hand post before rebounding to safety. Perhaps that one moment signalled that ultimately it was not to be United’s day.

By rights, Swindon’s third game in the space of seven days would’ve entitled the players to some very heavy legs come the latter stages of this duel, but in fairness such fatigue didn’t seem to manifest itself here as much as in the second half of the uphill exercise at Barnet in midweek. As the sun descended over the valley and certain heat-starved areas of the pitch turned even more glacial than they had been throughout; Wiltshire’s dark knights contrived to stand resolute and come the final whistle they successfully brought home a fair maiden in the form of three cherished points.

Achieving the double over a far from shabby Rotherham side hopefully represented vindication for PDC, whose one-match touchline ban saw him subjected by all accounts to heinous abuse from the home fans in the main stand where the ex-Hillsborough player found himself incarcerated for 90 minutes.

That Town managed to pull off this heartening result without The Gaffer’s barking and gesticulating from pitch-side, at the same time as missing the suspended A-Mack at the heart of defence strongly unscored both the application and the depth of the squad. One trusts that those ingredients will stand The Robins in good stead for the second half of the season; and here’s also hoping there will be no complacency or lethargy when our boys square up to Macclesfield on Saturday.

Your man of the match: Matt Ritchie with 62% of the vote