SWINDON TOWN 0

CRAWLEY TOWN 1

Unsurprisingly Swindon kept the same starting line-up that had won impressively at Tranmere Rovers last week, but that is where any similarities ended.

They pressed well and created a few half chances in the first fifteen minutes but the closest they came to scoring in the first half was when a Jak McCourt free kick struck the post.

The difficult conditions weren’t helping but with the wind behind the home side seemed incapable of measuring their passes correctly.

It’s a very long time since I’ve seen so many mistimed and inaccurate passes by a Swindon team.

In first half injury time they conceded the goal that would clinch the points for Crawley Town and leave Swindon with just four home league wins on the board.

No one picked up the player on the far post and it was then bundled home unceremoniously after a couple of deflections.

Yet another conceded home goal that you would think the manager would be hugely disappointed about.

The manager’s tactics for the second half were difficult to fathom.

His three substitutes made no impact whatsoever and why on earth Kyle Knoyle wasn’t brought into the fray, with Canice Carroll having such a poor game, is the biggest mystery. I thought Knoyle would have been the better bet against Lincoln, and again yesterday.

In the second half Town didn’t press nearly hard enough and looked a totally disjointed team, with no one dominating midfield at all.

Scott Twine missed an opportunity when his cross shot went wide but otherwise, until the penalty, Swindon’s only efforts were two or three blocked shots.

Carroll, with almost the first Town overlap of the game – and in the very last minute - was tripped as he entered the Crawley area.

Keshi Anderson who had put himself about well, then blotted his copy book with an awful spot kick that was far too close to the keeper.

In the end Swindon managed just two shots on target – and one might have been the missed penalty.

Luke Woolfenden was one of the few home players to come out of this with any degree of credit, although both centre half Tom Broadbent, who won everything in the air, and full back Ali Koiki had promising home starts.

Experiencing Swindon’s current roller-coaster mood, and a really dire performance like this, does, unfortunately, make one question the sanity of coming out week after week.

The gaps in the stands are becoming more and more conspicuous and I’m afraid this home form is not going to improve the situation.

We can only trust that Richie Wellens really is getting a handle on his revamped squad and that, sooner rather than later, he will find the right blend for his first eleven – and then stick with it.

Next Saturday Town are home to local rivals Forest Green Rovers, who sadly are having a much better season than ourselves.

We never find them easy opponents to play against and so an interesting match beckons.