Swindon continued their good form on the road by beating promotion challengers Tranmere Rovers 2-1 at Prenton Park and notching up their sixth away league win, compared with just four at the County Ground, writes Peter Mitchell.

There were starts for newcomers Carroll, Koiki and Broadbent, with two more, House and Rose, on the bench.

Swindon were the dominant side in the first half and took the lead after 19 minutes with a real poacher’s goal, that must have pleased manager Richie Wellens. Following great interplay down the left between Ali Koiki and Kaiyne Woolery, the youngster from Burnley put over an inch-perfect pass from the byline that was exactly what Marc Richards was looking for.

Town were pressing well and were further rewarded for their efforts 15 minutes later. Keshi Anderson harried a Tranmere defender into losing possession and Michael Doughty finished well, for his third goal in two games.

The second half was a very different proposition and the home side went on the offensive from the off. Once again slack defending through an overhead kick gifted the ball to Rovers and hot-shot James Norwood made no mistake from the edge of the box.

Swindon were being pinned back and it was Tranmere’s turn to dominate. Nevertheless, Town should have scored a third to make the game safe when Jak McCourt missed a sitter, after good play and a great cross from Woolery.

The Town defence hung on well and new signing Tom Broadbent looked the part in central defence - despite hardly knowing his team mates’ names - having only signed from Bristol Rovers on Friday.

Wellens made good use of his substitutes bringing on the experienced Matt Taylor and new-boy Danny Rose in the latter stages, to shore up midfield and defence.

In the end it was another well-deserved three points with Swindon managing an encouraging six shots on target.

Five new additions to the squad so far, and apparently the manager is still hoping to land a couple more including a striker and a flair player. And don’t be too surprised if we see Millwall’s Sid Nelson again, because I get the impression that some sort of deal is still a possibility. Danny Rose, who has the experience of having been in three promotion squads with Fleetwood, Northampton and Portsmouth, looks a particularly strong acquisition.

Things are looking up again, and Town now need to set about getting a much better haul of points at the County Ground, starting next Saturday against mediocre Crawley Town.