MacDonald's Robins a force to be reckoned with post-PDC

Darren Ward goes wild after heading Town's winner Darren Ward goes wild after heading Town's winner

PAOLO who? In 90 minutes at the Ricoh Arena, Swindon Town illustrated that without the enigmatic Italian they remain a force to be reckoned with.

Despite falling behind to a second minute goal from Franck Moussa, Swindon hit back with an avalanche of free-flowing moves on a difficult playing surface and, although they left it late, sneaked three points from under the noses of their promotion rivals.

It was hardly a smash and grab, despite the lateness of the goals from Andy Williams and Darren Ward. This was a result of careful planning, superior fitness and undeniable extra quality.

It was perhaps not as convincing a scoreline as the performance might have suggested but nonetheless, the real Swindon just stood back up.

MacDonald could not possibly have dreamt for a worst start under his tenure, as Swindon fell behind within 70 seconds.

Moments after defending a corner Coventry broke, Gary McSheffrey took the ball from under Nathan Thompson’s feet as the right-back dallied and found himself stuck in the mud on a shocking Ricoh surface and the winger freed Moussa.

Town were stretched and, with Leon Clarke dragging Darren Ward out wide, Moussa was able to get off a shot which beat Foderingham into his left-hand corner.

Town responded well to falling behind but any kind of meaningful passing football was nigh-on impossible on a playing surface that looked like the practice area at the local pitch and putt.

It took 16 minutes for Swindon to finally hit that target. Andy Williams bore down on goal but opted to centre for Simon Ferry, who drew a decent save out of Sky Blues keeper Joe Murphy.

Coventry could barely get going after their early opener, although McSheffrey spurned a golden chance to double their lead when, unmarked at the back post, he let Carl Baker’s cross bounce off him and out for a goal-kick.

Despite trailing Swindon looked confident. On a better pitch with a truer run on of the ball the visitors could well have ripped their opponents to shreds. As it was, they were only to tear them at the corners.

Williams’ tremendous first touch in the 29th minute took him away from Aaron Martin but with the goal at his mercy the striker dragged his effort wide.

Coventry were being turned on by their own fans as passes went astray and decision against them and, seven minutes before half-time, they should have been dragged back level.

Williams showed tremendous strength to outmuscle Martin and twist onto his right foot inside the area. His first shot hit a post but, when the rebound fell at his feet three yards from goal it seemed as though the striker was going to have the simple task of tapping into the back of the net.

However, Murphy somehow managed to back-track and get his body in the way of Williams’ follow-up.

Occasionally the Sky Blues threatened. Carl Dickinson sent a rasping 25-yard drive wide of Foderingham’s right-hand post and Clarke’s header from Baker’s corner was off-target, but it was the away side who were by far the better team in the opening half.

Swindon settled the quicker into the second half and tested Murphy again 10 minutes after the break.

McCormack broke out of midfield, exchanged a neat one-two with Williams on the edge of the box and brought a good save out of the Coventry stopper high at his near post.

The game entered something of a lull, a war of attrition as the two sides sized each other up, before Foderingham’s reflexes kept Swindon in the game with 25 minutes remaining.

Baker whipped in a cross from the right, Clarke beat Ward in the air and his header was hurtling towards the back of the net only for Foderingham to leap cat-like to his left to turn it wide.

Within seconds the Town stopper should have been rewarded for his brilliance as Swindon barraged the Coventry goal. Luke Rooney’s free-kick and Roberts’ follow-up were both blocked by Sky Blues bodies before the ball fell at Tommy Miller’s feet eight yards out.

The result was the same, however, as the midfielder saw his goalbound effort strike Coventry defender and dribble out for a corner.

As the game entered its final 10 minutes Swindon were totally on top. As Coventry’s attention to detail dipped, the visitors’ superior fitness was evident. But the all-important goal was not forthcoming.

Flint headed over at the back post from Luke Rooney’s corner, Rooney himself launched a wild volley 20 rows back into the stand and it seemed forever as though Town were going to fall short.

However, this team is made of sterner stuff. With five minutes left of normal time the Robins forced a chance down the left. Adam Rooney twice tested Murphy at his near post, the second attempt striking a post and bobbling across the goalline where Williams was on hand to scoop home.

It was perhaps the most important goal of the season for Swindon, and five minutes later they won the match in dramatic circumstances.

Luke Rooney chipped in a corner from the left and Darren Ward rose majestically to nod beyond Murphy. Cue delirium. This was one of those moments you had to be there to appreciate.

Comments(22)

robstfc says...
6:50am Mon 4 Mar 13

Great performance by the town both on & off the pitch.... The support from the town fans was truly amazing... And the celebrations at the end were some of the best.... These games and results make a season. I think we'll look back on Coventry away as the moment our push for the championship entered top gear...

Swindon1984 says...
7:08am Mon 4 Mar 13

Aside from a cheaply given early goal we were in total control and played some great football. Disappointing to see so many chances go begging but also great to see that we never gave up. Fantastic support even though some were rightly miffed at being shepherded about due to the club not organising the seating better. All in all a great day, and could be the launch pad the promotion push needs. Feeling a lot more positive than I did Friday! Bring on Walsall.

Rebel_phish says...
7:53am Mon 4 Mar 13

First game this season that we have won after falling a goal behind.

We have loss 7 games, 5 to a 1-0 scoreline. If only ......

Fantastic result, shear determination from the lads, and well rewarded.

LeGod says...
9:06am Mon 4 Mar 13

great performance but really should have stuffed them out of site. I have a couple of friends who are Coventry fans and they both said we are the best team they have seen this season.
The players looked full of confidence and we played some good football and maybe the players have been given a bit more confidence to express theirselves by the new manager.
Really pleased for Darren Ward getting the winner and the guy has been suprerb for us since he joined us and is a real leader on the pitch.
Fantastic support by the town fans as well saturday.

Since 1950 says...
9:14am Mon 4 Mar 13

That fantastic performance on the pitch along with that FANtastic support should go a long way to repairing some of the damage done to the club in recent weeks.

The Town can only be proud of players and supporters for Saturday.


COYR!

Stratton Red says...
9:20am Mon 4 Mar 13

Paolo who? Very disprespectful... Despite the circus he got results and I believe was passionate about winning for STFC as well as himself.

STFCman&boy1973 says...
10:41am Mon 4 Mar 13

Stratton Red wrote:
Paolo who? Very disprespectful... Despite the circus he got results and I believe was passionate about winning for STFC as well as himself.
Agree, it is still his team, so until next season it will be down to the hard work he put in...

But...

What a performance, great result, what is going on with wilsons lot, they keep winning, we will beat them on there own patch... :-))

COYMRs

great man this new God we have...

Rogersforengland says...
12:50pm Mon 4 Mar 13

We ALL including the Adver need to move on and forgot about 'you know who' he was well paid and did an amazing job, we will never forget him as fans but now we must all move on

hg191a says...
1:09pm Mon 4 Mar 13

he who shall not be named did well but its kmac turn now we are going up as f*******g champions

Mchalethegreat says...
1:24pm Mon 4 Mar 13

It was great to be there with my son on Saturday. There was an issue with people standing up and blocking the view of some young and elderly fans. One guy was stood up directly in front of my boy..I asked him if he could sit down to which he replied "f off and move somewhere else if you dont like it"...that was really disappointing as the stand was really packed and we had got there early to get a good seat. Loads of people were then turning up 20 minutes after kick off and blocking peoples views and then getting abusive towards STFC fans who asked them to move..all it took was a little consideration. As for the match it was good to see Macca biting in midfield but also looking to pass the ball. For all the work Tommy Miller does a lot of the time he seems to hook the ball over his head without looking so having Macca and Ferry together brought back some of the play "on the deck". I thought McEveley had a quite poor game in terms of his distribution. Rest of defence was solid after the early error. Although some of Roberts delivery wasnt great I thought he really gave 100% and covered a lot of ground. Would still like to see some link up between Collins and Willo..although they have both scored goals they dont really seem to play as a partnership. Fodders save from cry baby Clarke really was a turning point and just as important as the goal in my view.Just some observations on what ended up being a great day out!

SeanG92 says...
2:02pm Mon 4 Mar 13

Fantastic performance and result. In the end our superior fitness showed as did our quality. Fitness installed by PDC, quality brought in by PDC, thus it is extemly unfair to quite "Paolo who" at the start of the article.

Swindon1984 says...
2:23pm Mon 4 Mar 13

Mchalethegreat wrote:
It was great to be there with my son on Saturday. There was an issue with people standing up and blocking the view of some young and elderly fans. One guy was stood up directly in front of my boy..I asked him if he could sit down to which he replied "f off and move somewhere else if you dont like it"...that was really disappointing as the stand was really packed and we had got there early to get a good seat. Loads of people were then turning up 20 minutes after kick off and blocking peoples views and then getting abusive towards STFC fans who asked them to move..all it took was a little consideration. As for the match it was good to see Macca biting in midfield but also looking to pass the ball. For all the work Tommy Miller does a lot of the time he seems to hook the ball over his head without looking so having Macca and Ferry together brought back some of the play "on the deck". I thought McEveley had a quite poor game in terms of his distribution. Rest of defence was solid after the early error. Although some of Roberts delivery wasnt great I thought he really gave 100% and covered a lot of ground. Would still like to see some link up between Collins and Willo..although they have both scored goals they dont really seem to play as a partnership. Fodders save from cry baby Clarke really was a turning point and just as important as the goal in my view.Just some observations on what ended up being a great day out!
To be fair, a lot of problems seemed to be caused due to the unreserved seating, and there didn't seem to be enough seats available (saw many people being told to clear the gangways and find a seat, although there didn't seem to be much help from the stewards in helping them actually find any.

Got in early myself so no problems but it could've been better organised. Obviously not excusing anyone who gave you grief, there's no need for that. There was a bloke fairly near me giving a masterclass in how to **** off a police officer, answering back, getting in his face, poking him in the chest whilst trying to make a point and so on, but they were very calm about it. You literally could not get arrested in that town judging on the way some of our lot behaved!

RedintheFace says...
2:30pm Mon 4 Mar 13

Stratton Red wrote:
Paolo who? Very disprespectful... Despite the circus he got results and I believe was passionate about winning for STFC as well as himself.
Like he showed great respect to our club didn't he? What goes around... Anyway why don't you go and support the prat's new team? Oh hang on he's not gonna get a new team. Why's that then?

smirg kcab says...
3:37pm Mon 4 Mar 13

Paolo who?
Pathetic morshead.
I just hope you bump into Paolo down a dark alley one night
Onwards and upwards

hertz says...
5:14pm Mon 4 Mar 13

Yep I don't know why they do it , these clubs allocate seat numbers then say sit where you want , trouble is most folks leave a vacant seat between themselves and the next supporters so throughout our fans there were about 500 empty single seats , Anyway it all worked out well in the end . On the fans page one visitor said the Stewards were really heavy handed especially with fans standing but I did'nt see any evidence of that , COYR

Swindon1984 says...
5:25pm Mon 4 Mar 13

hertz wrote:
Yep I don't know why they do it , these clubs allocate seat numbers then say sit where you want , trouble is most folks leave a vacant seat between themselves and the next supporters so throughout our fans there were about 500 empty single seats , Anyway it all worked out well in the end . On the fans page one visitor said the Stewards were really heavy handed especially with fans standing but I did'nt see any evidence of that , COYR
Personally I found the stewards far more helpful and friendly than at the county ground - had a bit of banter and a laugh with a few outside before the game and no problems at all inside. If you're polite and respectful you generally tend to get the same in return (obviously this isn't the case all the time, I know). No major trouble anyway, think the club made a mistake telling us on the way in that the seating was unreserved though. With a smaller following it would've made no difference, but caused a few problems when 3000+ showed up. Great day anyway, and aside from Sheffield United probably the last decent sized ground we'll see this season.

As a side note, it just showed that a medium sized home support in a ground that holds 31000 looks fairly pathetic. Atmosphere from the home support was almost non-existent apart from the odd bit of singing from the lot to our right.

swwindon61uk says...
6:21pm Mon 4 Mar 13

Swindon1984 wrote:
Mchalethegreat wrote:
It was great to be there with my son on Saturday. There was an issue with people standing up and blocking the view of some young and elderly fans. One guy was stood up directly in front of my boy..I asked him if he could sit down to which he replied "f off and move somewhere else if you dont like it"...that was really disappointing as the stand was really packed and we had got there early to get a good seat. Loads of people were then turning up 20 minutes after kick off and blocking peoples views and then getting abusive towards STFC fans who asked them to move..all it took was a little consideration. As for the match it was good to see Macca biting in midfield but also looking to pass the ball. For all the work Tommy Miller does a lot of the time he seems to hook the ball over his head without looking so having Macca and Ferry together brought back some of the play "on the deck". I thought McEveley had a quite poor game in terms of his distribution. Rest of defence was solid after the early error. Although some of Roberts delivery wasnt great I thought he really gave 100% and covered a lot of ground. Would still like to see some link up between Collins and Willo..although they have both scored goals they dont really seem to play as a partnership. Fodders save from cry baby Clarke really was a turning point and just as important as the goal in my view.Just some observations on what ended up being a great day out!
To be fair, a lot of problems seemed to be caused due to the unreserved seating, and there didn't seem to be enough seats available (saw many people being told to clear the gangways and find a seat, although there didn't seem to be much help from the stewards in helping them actually find any.

Got in early myself so no problems but it could've been better organised. Obviously not excusing anyone who gave you grief, there's no need for that. There was a bloke fairly near me giving a masterclass in how to **** off a police officer, answering back, getting in his face, poking him in the chest whilst trying to make a point and so on, but they were very calm about it. You literally could not get arrested in that town judging on the way some of our lot behaved!
Was that low down,level with entrance and level with corner flag?
If so yes they were pushing their luck and i really was surprised at least two did not get arrested.
I have a feeling the MET will not be as forgiving next Tuesday!

Stratton Red says...
7:32pm Mon 4 Mar 13

RedintheFace wrote:
Stratton Red wrote: Paolo who? Very disprespectful... Despite the circus he got results and I believe was passionate about winning for STFC as well as himself.
Like he showed great respect to our club didn't he? What goes around... Anyway why don't you go and support the prat's new team? Oh hang on he's not gonna get a new team. Why's that then?
Pr1ck end of...

Pewsham Red says...
9:11pm Mon 4 Mar 13

Stratton Red wrote:
RedintheFace wrote:
Stratton Red wrote: Paolo who? Very disprespectful... Despite the circus he got results and I believe was passionate about winning for STFC as well as himself.
Like he showed great respect to our club didn't he? What goes around... Anyway why don't you go and support the prat's new team? Oh hang on he's not gonna get a new team. Why's that then?
Pr1ck end of...
Spot on Stratton. This bell end has NEVER had anything remotely positive to say about anything, especially di Canio.

RedintheFace says...
1:34am Tue 5 Mar 13

No need to be rude m8. And wrong - totally positive about our club now. A sane leader and the worst we can look forward to is another day out at Wembley. This time no bobble. No giant ego dissing our own players. No financial madness. Proud to have seen thru DiCaniwho a long time ago. By the way next time you want to show respect to someone break in to their house & afterwards sue them.

Pewsham Red says...
10:48am Tue 5 Mar 13

RedintheFace wrote:
No need to be rude m8. And wrong - totally positive about our club now. A sane leader and the worst we can look forward to is another day out at Wembley. This time no bobble. No giant ego dissing our own players. No financial madness. Proud to have seen thru DiCaniwho a long time ago. By the way next time you want to show respect to someone break in to their house & afterwards sue them.
Clown!

Swindon1984 says...
1:19pm Tue 5 Mar 13

swwindon61uk wrote:
Swindon1984 wrote:
Mchalethegreat wrote: It was great to be there with my son on Saturday. There was an issue with people standing up and blocking the view of some young and elderly fans. One guy was stood up directly in front of my boy..I asked him if he could sit down to which he replied "f off and move somewhere else if you dont like it"...that was really disappointing as the stand was really packed and we had got there early to get a good seat. Loads of people were then turning up 20 minutes after kick off and blocking peoples views and then getting abusive towards STFC fans who asked them to move..all it took was a little consideration. As for the match it was good to see Macca biting in midfield but also looking to pass the ball. For all the work Tommy Miller does a lot of the time he seems to hook the ball over his head without looking so having Macca and Ferry together brought back some of the play "on the deck". I thought McEveley had a quite poor game in terms of his distribution. Rest of defence was solid after the early error. Although some of Roberts delivery wasnt great I thought he really gave 100% and covered a lot of ground. Would still like to see some link up between Collins and Willo..although they have both scored goals they dont really seem to play as a partnership. Fodders save from cry baby Clarke really was a turning point and just as important as the goal in my view.Just some observations on what ended up being a great day out!
To be fair, a lot of problems seemed to be caused due to the unreserved seating, and there didn't seem to be enough seats available (saw many people being told to clear the gangways and find a seat, although there didn't seem to be much help from the stewards in helping them actually find any. Got in early myself so no problems but it could've been better organised. Obviously not excusing anyone who gave you grief, there's no need for that. There was a bloke fairly near me giving a masterclass in how to **** off a police officer, answering back, getting in his face, poking him in the chest whilst trying to make a point and so on, but they were very calm about it. You literally could not get arrested in that town judging on the way some of our lot behaved!
Was that low down,level with entrance and level with corner flag? If so yes they were pushing their luck and i really was surprised at least two did not get arrested. I have a feeling the MET will not be as forgiving next Tuesday!
Yeah that's the one, surprised there was that little bit of aggro as it's not like the home fans were baiting us or anything.

Can't make Brentford away due to work commitments (will be stuck in the West Midlands, already pointed out to the boss the sacrifice I'll be making!) which is a shame as it's a relatively easy journey for me, close to the railway station and pubs adjacent, but at least there's Walsall and McDonald's first home game in charge. I'll be giving him a warm welcome as I'm sure everyone else will. Like I said I reckon Saturday could be a great launchpad for the rest of our season as long as we can keep that type of performance as the norm, and Saturday will be a great chance to show some unity between fans, board, manager and players. Should be another good contest as Walsall are pushing for play off places the same as Coventry (were)

click2find

Get Adobe Flash player
About cookies

We want you to enjoy your visit to our website. That's why we use cookies to enhance your experience. By staying on our website you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more about the cookies we use.

I agree