Swindon Town 2-0 Oldham Athletic
Stu Vose at the County Ground

Off-colour Athletic's indifferent form continues as an excellent start unravelled against Swindon at the County Ground.

If Athletic dominated the second period at Bristol in midweek, they cranked it up another notch by absolutely blitzing the Robins in the first 20 minutes.

A barrage of chances came and went as John Sheridan's side laid siege to the home goal, but a breakthrough wouldn't come and one of the most against-the-run-of-play goals you will ever see threw an industrial-sized spanner in the works.

Defender Sean Morrison took advantage of slack defending to fire Swindon into a lead they would double when Lee Hughes's handball led to Jack Smith scoring from the spot.

The second half was a non-event from an Athletic perspective as Maurice Malpas' side comfortably wrapped up their third home win of the season.

The defeat is sure to irk manager John Sheridan; even more so given that his side failed to score for the second successive game.

But it all looked so good early on as Latics started like a train against a Swindon side who had already lost four League games at home this season.

Brett Ormerod headed an Andy Liddell feed wide on three minutes after creating the chance by charging down keeper Peter Brezovan's poor clearance.

Slovak keeper Brezovan was called into action action just moments later when he gathered Chris Taylor's stinging shot down low with Hughes closing in on any potential rebound.

Athletic pressed ahead with their bright and breezy start, and almost took the lead when Mark Allott's cross was flicked on by Hughes to the feet of Taylor, but Smith thundered in to make a superb block and clear the danger.

But for all their early enterprise, Athletic were almost punished on 18 minutes when Anthony McNamee's corner was headed goalwards by Billy Paynter, forcing Crossley to claw the ball away.

Undeterred, Latics were soon back on the attack and Hughes saw two powerful close-range shots blocked - subsequent appeals for handball against a Swindon defender were waved away by the referee.

To the casual observer, it seemed only a matter of time before the visitors assumed a deserved lead, but again Sheridan's luck was out as a defensive error handed the hosts the advantage.

Centre-back Morrison took advantage of a gaping hole in Athletic's rearguard to meet a ball into the box, and he calmly drew Crossley and slotted the ball into the far corner.

The goal was totally against the run of play, but the breakthrough certainly seem to re-energise Swindon, who tested Crossley again through Paynter before, amazingly, taking a two-nil lead with 34 minutes gone.

The referee decreed Hughes had handled a free-kick at the back post, and defender Smith stepped up to send Crossley the wrong way from the spot.

Latics spurned a glorious chance to equalise five minutes before the break when Hughes' flick-on sent Danny Whitaker racing clear, but the midfielder measured his shot way over the top from the edge of the box.

Then Whitaker had the ball in the net only to be flagged offside, but Swindon could have rounded off a crazy half with a third goal if Paynter's header hadn't bounced just past the post with Crossley well beaten.

Sitting pretty two goals up, Swindon started the second period in confident mood and should have added a third goal through top scorer Cox, who fired just wide after wriggling free on the right.

Then another raking ball over the top was measured perfectly for the speedy frontman who spotted Crossley off his line, but Athletic were handed a let-off as his lob struck the outside of the post and bounced away.

Deane Smalley and Craig Davies entered the fray in place of Liddell and Ormerod on the hour as Sheridan looked for a spark to propel his side back into the game.

Davies' neat turn presented him with a scoring chance five minutes after coming on; the striker's low effort beat the advancing Brezovan but rolled agonisingly wide of the far post.

But again Swindon had a reply, ex-Latic Hasney Aljofree firing a vicious effort straight down Crossley's throat after Billy Paynter's far-post header was cleared off the line.

The Robins stroked the ball around nicely in the final stages - a complete contrast to the first 20 minutes of the game when they looked like a side all at sea.

But, in the end, Athletic were punished for not taking their chances and Sheridan will be demanding a response ahead of Tuesday's tricky test against league leaders Scunthorpe.

Latics: Crossley, Eardley, Jones, Hazell, Gregan, Taylor, Liddell (Smalley, 61), Allott (Maher, 81), Whitaker, Hughes, Ormerod (Davies, 61).

Subs Not Used: Fleming, Lomax.

Booked: Ormerod (52), Allott (67).

Sent Off: None.

Scorers: None


Swindon: Brezovan, Smith, Timlin, Aljofree, McGovern, McNamee, Pook, Paynter (Corr, 76), Morrison, Cox, Peacock.

Subs Not Used: Smith, Easton, Amankwaah, Nalis.

Booked: None.

Sent Off: None.

Scorers: Morrison (25), Smith (pen 34)


Referee: Mr G Horwood
Assistant: Mr J Busby
Assistant: Mr M West
Fourth Official: Mr W Bull

Att: 6,756