SWINDON Town fought their way to Wembley in a game branded the best play-off tie ever after a ten-goal thriller at the County Ground last night.

They were held 5-5 by Sheffield United but won 7-6 on aggregate.
Swindon Town raced into a three-goal lead within 18 minutes and the mood in pubs like The Merlin in Drove Road and the Tap and Barrel was buoyant but fate wasn’t finished with this nail-biting, goal drenched play-off semi-final second leg.

Some 79 minutes and seven goals later fans in the ground, in the pubs and at home watching TV had been through the wringer.

The Sky commentary team called it the most amazing semi-final ever and who could argue? Better still who cares? Swindon Town are off to Wembley.

It was the highest-scoring play-off tie ever but Town boss Mark Cooper called it: “The worst game of football I’ve ever been through.

“I’m sure the people watching at home really enjoyed it.
I don’t think there’s ever been a game like it. It was like two heavyweight boxers trying to knock each other out, it was a ridiculous game of football.

“When Obika scored I thought that was it. It was one of those nights, if we’d kept playing it could have been 10-10. 

“The crowd were fantastic, I wish it was like that every week.”

In pubs like The Merlin The Tap and Barrel enjoyment was not really the emotion as The Blades resilience ensured the home fans were never comfortable.
Sheffield pulled it back to 3-2, then 4-3 and eventually 5-5 but somehow Swindon kept the edge.

The mood in the pubs swung from elation to disbelief when sub John Obika made it 4-2 with six minutes left, only for the visitors to grab two more goals and torture the home fans some more.
But the final whistle brought an eruption of joy and a pitch invasion. Despite the elation no one could really believe what they had seen.

Aussie midfielder Massimo Luongo could barely contain his excitement live on BBC Wiltshire.
Asked for his summary of the night’s events he could only reply: “F***** unbelievable game.”
Town legend Steve White said afterwards: “It was an incredible game. I’ve never seen anything like it in a long, long time.”

Fan Sam Smith summed up the joyous reaction of the fans when he said: “Winners, losers, drama from minute one, the play-offs have it all, every year without fail. Swindon 5, Sheffield Utd 5 was among the best of all-time.”

the The Merlin lifelong Robin Craig Kelly touched upon the bounties which lie ahead for club and town if they can get through their Wembley final.

“It’s obviously huge for the town to make the next step up, up into the next league,” said the 29-year-old. It’ll bring money into the team, bring money into the town.”

The Portsmouth Street resident can remember not only the Division One days of 2000 and before, but also the Premiership campaign in the early 90s.

He said the season the club has had merits a return to those dizzy heights next season. “With the season they’ve had it’s been absolutely spot on, with what they’ve done this year they’ve deserve to make the next step up,” he said.

In The Merlin Gavin Bell, 49, said: “All season we have been playing incredibly, then having bad patches, then turning it on again, so this has just summed that up.

“I wish I had been there tonight. The ground looks amazing on the TV, and the fans seem to be keeping it loud. Let’s just hope we can all get a ticket for Wembley.”