County will be looking for a fourth win in five away games this weekend, as we travel to play-off hopefuls Swindon Town in League Two.
That painful late equaliser conceded against Mansfield last weekend saw County miss the chance to close the gap on the automatic promotion places – a point leaving us in fifth place, six points behind Northampton Town who briefly leapfrogged Carlisle United into third.
The two sides either side of us in the table went head-to-head on Tuesday night in their game in hand, as Bradford City drew 0-0 at home to Carlisle. That result lifted Mark Hughes’ side a point above us as we dropped to sixth, whilst Carlisle moved back into the top three on goal difference.
Mansfield’s goalless draw at home to Grimsby on Wednesday night saw them move to within three points of us with a game in hand, although we retain a superior goal difference over the Stags.
Opponents Swindon come into this game on the back of a crazy 4-4 draw away at Rochdale last weekend, in which the Robins led 2-0, trailed 3-2 and led 4-3 before conceding a 94th minute equaliser at the Crown Oil Arena. That result leaves them 11th in League Two, eight points off the play-off places and nine behind County, but with a game in hand.
Since we last met:
Saturday will be the third meeting between the two sides this season, and the first at the County Ground since February 2010.
A late goal from Antoni Sarcevic rescued a point for County in the league meeting at Edgeley Park; a game which saw Paddy Madden shown a straight red card for an off-the-ball incident. Our meeting in the FA Cup however saw a much-changed County side put in one of their best performances of the season, winning 4-0 to advance to the second round, with Sarce grabbing a first-half brace.
The Robins, play-off semi-finalists last season, had actually come in to that cup tie flying high in League Two, having just thrashed Mansfield Town 5-2 away from home to move up to fourth – only two points off the automatic promotion places after 17 games.
That resounding defeat in SK3 however sparked a difficult run for the Wiltshire side, who would win only two of their next eight games in the league, losing four, to drop out of the play-off places.
Their season was further disrupted in January, when the somewhat surprising news emerged that manager Scott Lindsey had left the club, in order to sign a two-and-a-half year deal at struggling Crawley Town.
Lindsey had only been in charge for six months, having been promoted from his position as assistant manager over the summer, and left with the side in eighth place – outside the play-offs on goal difference.
First-team coach Gavin Gunning and Goalkeeping Coach Steve Mildenhall took interim charge for the team, and oversaw a 5-0 win over Grimsby Town in their first game in charge – with the returning club hero Charlie Austin grabbing a goal on his second debut for the club.
They followed that up with a 3-3 draw at home to Gillingham, with Austin grabbing another two, before the club moved to appoint Jody Morris as their new permanent head coach. Morris was highly rated as a coach during his time in charge of Chelsea’s academy, before going on to become Frank Lampard’s assistant during his time as Derby County and Chelsea manager. This represents his first full-time managerial role.
His time in charge got off to the worst possible start though, losing his first three games in charge to Newport, Doncaster and Sutton – leaving Swindon with just three wins in 13 since that FA Cup exit at Edgeley Park.
A 2-1 win at Salford City gave Morris his first points as Swindon manager, and he followed that up with a 3-0 win over Harrogate before claiming a credible draw at home to leaders Leyton Orient – their best run in the league since October.
They come into this game winless in their last four though, following defeat at home to Carlisle and draws with Walsall and Rochdale. That run has seen them, for the time being at least, fall away from play-off contention, and with just ten games remaining they will know a win here is crucial to getting them back in the promotion mix.
One to watch:
No doubts about this one – Charlie Austin’s return to the club he played for between 2009-2011 was heralded as a real marquee signing for the Robins, and it’s easy to see why. The 33-year-old scored 34 goals in just 51 league appearances during his first spell at Swindon, before going on to enjoy a successful career in the Premier League with QPR, Southampton and West Brom.
A prolific forward wherever he’s been, Austin joined the club following a brief spell in Australia with Brisbane Roar and has picked up where he left off in a Swindon shirt, plundering eight goals in his first 11 appearances back at the County Ground. Last weekend saw him help himself to all four goals in that draw away at Rochdale.
Match Stats:
- Saturday will be the 37th competitive meeting between County and Swindon Town. Historically, The Robins have the competitive edge, winning 16 previous meetings to County’s 12.
- Our FA Cup win earlier in the season gave us just our second win in the last 11 meetings with Swindon. Our last win at the County Ground came in October 2003, courtesy of goals from Stuart Barlow and Aaron Wilbraham.
- Paddy Madden’s goal last weekend was his first in League Two since Boxing Day. It was his 43rd goal for County, coming in just 98 appearances.
