SWINDON Town’s latest defeat encapsulated everything frustrating about watching them this season.

They played with great intentions to pass and move from all angles, but it collapsed far too often. There was no snap in the passing, the dribbling was laborious and unproductive and the shooting wayward.

Town went goalless for the second game running, a first this season to compound their poor form and it brought about nothing but ire from the stands, who were clearly losing patience with a team who had promised so much as recently as January.

All of things that had been so admired when the results were good have suddenly become beacons for frustration, patient build-up, intricate football, playing from the back brought burst of frustration from the stands throughout.

This defeat, Town’s fourth in seven, may not have been as costly as it threatened, with others failing to take advantage, but it did little to dissipate the mire around the County Ground currently.

By comparison Gillingham were clinical, as Cody McDonald netted twice and Jake Hessenthaler made the most of the visitors to sink Swindon – a second reverse on home soil in three games.

Denied the services of Louis Thompson and Jack Stephens, through injury and suspension respectively, Mark Cooper opted to bring back Yaser Kasim and John Swift. With those two in the side the manager also opted to use the Iraqi as a one-man shield for the back three, as opposed to the pair employed recently.

Harry Toffolo also returned at the expense of Ben Gladwin, with the latter, reportedly suffering a stiff neck, taking a place on the bench.

The shortage of midfield options also meant academy prospect Tommy Ouldridge got a place on the bench for the first time this season.

The frenetic pace of the opening 10 minutes failed to provide anything but a half-chance. Nathan Byrne driving at the Gills’ defence and attempting to find Toffolo free in the box but the pass was just out of reach and went tamely out of play.

McDonald had wasted the game’s first opportunity. A misplaced pass from Kasim came to John Marquis, who was able to slide in his strike partner, but on his left foot and with a clear sight of goal, McDonald failed to find the target.

Town came close with what would have been a near carbon copy of the opening goal against Barnsley, Swift beating his man from a short corner and delivering a low cross to Raphael Branco. The Brazilian drove for goal but his effort struck Massimo Luongo and the chance went begging.

Swindon were ready to make the most of their superior possession, Michael Smith digging out a cross for Andy Williams at the back post but the 20-goal man was not able to get a proper contact and could only send his header across goal to be cleared.

Gillingham’s goal came like a pothole in the road of Town’s momentum. A rare break down the visitors’ left saw Doug Loft deliver a cross which dribbled across goal before finding McDonald.

If the build-up was less than spectacular then the finish was the absolute opposite. Facing away from goal, the striker swung his leg like a pendulum and crisply back-heeled the ball past a stranded Wes Foderingham.

For the remainder of the half’s 20 or so minutes Swindon did a lot of huffing, often with some smart build-up around halfway. It all seemed to break, like a wave on marina wall, with misplaced passes and aborted dribbles an all too common sight for the men in red.

There was no siege on the Gillingham defence after the goal but the visitors had not come for a 1-0 win and continued to play their part in the game, offering Town encouragement to play with relative pace on the break. Sadly a lack of quality from the hosts often blighted their efforts.

Town were made to pay within the opening minute of the second period. Dack scampering down the left and crossing to the near post, Hessenthaler’s header looked harmless at first, but looped over Foderingham and landed agonisingly inside the far post.

Cooper gambled and brought on Jermaine Hylton and Jonathan Obika, but, bizarrely, rather than opting for a three strikers, the manager pulled both his starting front line.

It brought about little impact aside from riling the fans up in the stands who were demanding a greater attacking threat.

Still nothing changed, so Cooper again made a switch. This one did alter the shape, Gladwin coming on for Branco. It left Jordan Turnbull and Nathan Thompson as the only defenders on the pitch, with Kasim in front of them and Swift right up behind the front two.

It did nothing.

Actually it was the Gills who looked most dangerous as the game neared its conclusion and so it proved when the away side added a further strike to their tally late on. McDonald latched on to a straight long ball and lifted his shot over a helpless Foderingham.

It was a fitting end to a poor show.