Swindon Town players rated after Colchester United draw

Charlie Austin’s penalty and Tom Brewitt’s first goal for the club put them in a commanding position before the break, before Matt Jay scored in first-half stoppage time and then Conor Wilkinson backheeled in the 94th-minute equaliser.

So, how did the Swindon Town players get on in their first home match of the new year?

GK: Lewis Ward – 2

This really does epitomise the life of a goalkeeper. Eight days ago he saved the penalty in stoppage time and he was the hero then this week he flaps at a corner and costs Swindon. His overall performances were not dissimilar as he was only called upon a handful of times, but this time he did not come up big when it counted.

Brewitt celebrates his first Swindon goal (Image: Callum Knowles)

RCB: Udoka Godwin-Malife – 6

Swindon played slowly in the first half and it was only the bravery and ability to drive from Godwin-Malife that got them into good positions. He also showed off his pace multiple times to shut Colchester down. This was not a good day for most Town players, but he was certainly among the better performers.

CB: Tom Brewitt – 4

This is definitely a display that will have people disagreeing with me about Brewitt. He scored his goal and he was physical throughout. Those who like him will say he did well but I felt his physical efforts were often misplaced or over the top and it was not actually helping.

LCB: Harrison Minturn – 3

I think Swindon need a defender badly for many reasons and one of them is to give Minturn a breather. These last few weeks have been a real struggle for him and today was no different. Colchester initially had good movement in their front three and then plenty of physicality and he seemed to enjoy facing neither.

RWB: Remeao Hutton – 4

Swindon were not getting a lot of bodies in the box throughout the game and that made most of his crosses fruitless. Then with Swindon dropping deep in the second half, a defending-first scenario is never going to suit him.

Shade has his shot saved (Image: Andy Crook)

CM: Saidou Khan – 3

From what I could figure out, it was Khan who was the one marking Jay for most of the game and for 90 minutes he was the only one who looked like they might trouble Swindon. He is playing through injury at the moment and it has been hampering him for weeks.

CM: Liam Kinsella – 4

This was a day when we saw the side of Kinsella when his enthusiasm was less positive. He puts in the yards but most of them are not effective and his tackling was looser than normal.

LWB: Williams Kokolo – 3

I was impressed by Jayden Favrier in the reverse fixture and that was the case once again on Saturday. He was able to get beyond Kokolo whenever he chose. Plain and simple, Kokolo could not keep up with his changes of direction.

CAM: Jake Cain – 4

I was hoping for more from Cain in this game. He had scored in both of his previous starts this season and he does always seem to get one chance, but he had no real impact in the final third. The game passed him by a little and with Dawson Devoy and possibly others in now his chance might be gone.

Austin celebrates his penalty (Image: Callum Knowles)

ST: Charlie Austin – 5

Austin is an absolute deadeye from the spot and in the area his heading is always solid, less so outside the box. Some of his link play was good and that was helping to free up Tyrese Shade. But then after the break, he was a non-factor as he is not going to be able to do much damage on the break.

ST: Tyrese Shade – 6

I was excited to see Shade in an advanced position and in the first half I feel he did well. He was a constant threat in behind and Colchester struggled to deal with him. After the break Town probably needed more from him to release the pressure but it never really came.

Subs:

Ricky Aguiar – 4

This rating is in no way Aguiar’s fault. Swindon had dropped far too deep by the time he came on and he was never given the chance to make an impact in possession. He was a willing runner when he came on, although it did feel that not all of his running was constructive.

George McEachran – N/A