Swindon Town 4 Cambridge Utd 0

By Peter Mitchell

It seems remarkable to say it, but it was no surprise that Eoin Doyle equalled the 93-year-old club record of scoring in eleven consecutive league games. It almost seemed pre-ordained when after five minutes Keshi Anderson was barged heavily in the area. Doyle snatched up the ball and fired home the penalty without a second thought. This was exactly the start Swindon needed and, really, the only serious pressing Cambridge managed was in those early stages.

Swindon’s game was flowing, and time after time an excellent move was snuffed out by the final pass being just an inch or two off.

Ellis Iandolo, deputising for the sick Rob Hunt, was getting forward repeatedly and showing his equal pace on the ball. The other forced change had been Gabriel Kakuani who was standing in for injured Zeki Fryers in the middle of defence. He gave an excellent performance with his no-nonsense dominance in the air.

Swindon fans have always known there were lots of goals in Anderson, but we just don’t get to see that many. This week we were in for a treat when he completed the second hat trick of his career in a 25-minute spell either side of the break. His first goal came after an excellent knockdown by Kaiyne Woolery and his second was sublime. He found space 25 yards out and languidly smacked home a ball that left the Cambridge keeper transfixed. He completed the treble by putting away a blocked cross from Doyle.

With only three minutes left, and with the game long over, a linesman had to be replaced. The crowd were then treated to the riveting spectacle of his replacement performing warm ups for several minutes, but it did lead to some false hope for the visitors when the new fourth official signalled, erroneously, 42 minutes of injury time

The stats say that possession was equal, which shows how misleading figures can sometimes be. The large Boxing Day crowd were enjoying an excellent home display and hopefully many of the floaters in the 8,000 plus crowd will return for the game against Bradford on January 4, even though Doyle won’t be playing that day.

Good to learn that Town have demonstrated their faith in captain Dion Conroy by extending his contract until the end of next season. Apparently, rehabilitation from his second serious long-term injury is going well – so let’s hope he will be back to perform in League One.

Sunday sees a visit to Port Vale, followed by the New Year’s Day trip to Plymouth Argyle. I understand the game at Home Park is a sell-out, so there could be around 18,000 there to witness a really stern test for Swindon. A point from each game will do us very nicely.