After Saturday’s heavy defeat, Swindon supporters suffered further disappointment when Town crashed out at the first hurdle of the League (Carabao) Cup against local rivals Forest Green Rovers. Particularly galling in the season when the club is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its most famous victory in the same competition writes Peter Mitchell.

Swindon had a good first half but without anything to show for their dominance and shots on goal. There was only one team in it and Lawrence Vigouroux was almost just an interested spectator. However poor finishing did them no favours and the closest they came was when Martin Smith caught sight of debutant Forest Green keeper, James Montgomery, way off his line and lobbed a brilliant ball from inside his own half, only to see it rebound off the inside of a post.

The second half was almost a complete reversal in terms of possession, but the visitors managed only one shot on target – and that was enough to take them into the second round. On the hour mark Sid Nelson made a hash of a clearance on the edge of his box, with Tahvon Campbell collecting the ball and slotting it past Vigouroux. Town’s attacks had become ragged and frenetic with very few clear-cut chances created.

Manager Phil Brown waited until twenty minutes after the goal before making a double substitution but neither Alzate nor McGlashan had enough time to make their mark on the game. Olly Lancashire and Joe Romansky in defence and Toumani Diagouraga in midfield, all gave solid performances.

What frustrates Swindon fans is the fact that Phil Brown has been in place since early March and still hasn’t managed to secure at least one permanent experienced central defender. He made it quite clear very quickly that this was the place where Town were light on resource and that it was a key task. Since then he has managed to recruit an abundance of midfielders, but the only new defender of any description is young Sid Nelson, who is on a six-month loan from Millwall. Now the word is that he has reached the edge of his budget and has little money left to play with.

If it wasn’t for their good fortune at the very end of the Macclesfield game, Town would now be staring at four straight defeats to kick off their season.

On Saturday, newly promoted Tranmere Rovers will be the visitors to the County Ground and I expect them to provide further stiff opposition.