Former BBC Wiltshire match commentator Vic Morgan reflects on the week’s events at the County Ground…

This past week has encapsulated everything about supporting Swindon Town Football Club. The highs of Oldham and the lows of Northampton. There’s no other way to describe it, sometimes you can’t ‘old em other times, a load of cobblers.

Let’s start with the positive. After the disappointment of the Bury and Bristol Rovers home defeats, not to mention an awful trip to a three sided stadium in the next county, Swindon fans needed a bit of a pick me up.

That arrived at Boundary Park. The Town dominated against Oldham and were never in any danger of losing the game. Jon Obika’s goal summed up the afternoon. A dozen and a half passes leading to a clinical finish. Great to watch. The points were secured by BOO’s second half effort. It was certainly one of the wing backs best games for Swindon and a deserved goal.

Was it a sign that the corner had been turned and this fledgling season was beginning to pick up for the Wiltshire team? Certainly there was much satisfaction on the long journey back on the supporters coach and the onward journey back to Devon. There was also a feeling of hoping the form could continue against Northampton three days later against the backdrop of a pleasant early Autumn evening.

Sadly that wasn’t to be. Defensive frailties that have been all to evident recently, were clearly visible early on as the visitors opened the scoring. Missed tackles and bad marking seem to be like an epidemic at the moment and the hard work of Saturday was a fading memory.

A ray of light before the Northampton game…

The introduction of Sean Murray had a galvanising effect on the Town and he scored his first Swindon goal with a crisp finish from the corner of the penalty area. Back in the game and playing well. It looked like the recent home hoodoo would be cast aside. That was short lived though as the Cobblers again took advantage of awful defending to take the points.

The only consolation? At least our old nemesis Alex Revell didn’t score but he was impressive throughout. A player who never reached the heights while on loan at the a County Ground but has since gone on to have a more than decent career. His one Swindon goal, an impressive effort at Brentford, seems an age ago.

So what are we to make of it all? Clearly there are problems defensively. That’s not just down to those who hold the defensive positions but to the whole team. It’s often said you defend from the front, it appears at times Swindon don’t defend at all.

It’s not too late to turn this around. After all, it’s only the fag end of September and the beginning of October. What is a worry though is that the fixtures in the new month seem rather tricky. The likes of Bolton figure. A trip to Shrewsbury this weekend may be a chance to get back on track, our recent record there has been good.

A word before I finish about a player who joined the Town thirty years ago this week. Fraser Digby signed initially on loan from Manchester United and probably didn’t know where Swindon was. I remember walking into Lou Macari’s office for a post match interview and a quiet young man was standing in the corner. It turned out to be Fraser who turned out to be one of the Town’s greatest ever goalkeepers. Three decades has passed in the blinking of an eye. My what a thirty years it’s been, good times bad times. Just like the past week.

Keep it loud keep it proud keep it SWINDON!