9:40pm Tuesday 16th March 2010
By Anthony Marshall
CHARLIE Austin's 15th goal of the season handed 10-man Town a memorable 1-0 win away at Southampton this evening.
The front man struck 11 minutes into the second half having rounded home keeper Kelvin Davis, making up for two earlier disappointing squandered chances.
Unsurprisingly, Saints had the upper hand for large spells of the game and went close through Lee Barnard and Rickie Lambert, but some outstanding goalkeeping from Phil Smith and backs-to-the wall defending kept the hosts at bay.
Swindon even had to cope with the late sending off of Simon Ferry but held firm for huge massive League One points.
The hosts got out of the traps quickly and Lee Barnard forced Phil Smith into an early stop when he flicked Jason Puncheon's delivery goalwards.
And they were inches away from opening the scoring on seven minutes. Rickie Lambert was fouled by Scott Cuthbert 30 yards out and the prolific front man crashed a dipping strike from the resulting free-kick onto the roof of the net.
Swindon soaked up long spells of Saints pressure before carving out what looked likely to be a rare clear cut chance in the 20th minute.
Alan Sheehan's long ball down the left flank found Simon Ferry, who cut inside and slipped an inch-perfect ball into the path of Charlie Austin.
The front man took a touch and shot past keeper Kelvin Davis, only to see his effort go just the wrong side of the upright.
The home side's response was immediate and they had the ball in the back of the net just five minutes later, but Barnard's poke home after captain Dean Hammond had fired against the post was ruled out for offside.
If Town's injury problems were bad enough going into this clash then they were given an even bigger headache in the 37th minute when Scott Cuthbert limped off, replaced by Lecsinel Jean-Francois.
The centre-back had gone down minutes earlier under another challenge and, after attempting to play on, fell to the floor and was unable to continue.
Southampton continued to press and the visitors' defence was called into action once more right on the stroke of half-time.
First, keeper Phil Smith made a superb reaction save to keep out Wayne Thomas' headed after the defender had snuck in unmarked at the far post, before Jonathan Douglas cleared Morgan Schneiderlin's rebound off the line.
And then Smith was at it again, with an even better save, this time from point blank range to deny Radhi Jaidi when the centre-back simply had to score.
If the opening exchange of the second half was anything to go by then it looked like being more of the same as Southampton launched an immediate attack, with Puncheon slamming a strike high and wide from a tight angle on the right.
But it was Town who surprisingly turned the screw, keeping possession for almost entirely the next eight minutes.
And their spell of confident, controlled passing ended with Austin getting on the end of Ward's far post cross to slam the ball against Davis' legs and out for a corner.
If the youngster's two misses so far were uncharacteristic though he made up for it on 56 minutes, racing on to Ward's through ball to break the offside trap, round Davis and slot into the empty net.
The 2,000-plus Swindon supporters behind the goal were in great voice throughout and almost had even more to cheer when Marshall robbed Schneiderlin and played in Austin, whose low shot from distance was turned away for a corner by Davis.
The hosts made a double change in the 71st minute, bringing on midfielder Lloyd James and striker David Connolly for Dean Hammond and Wayne Thomas, signalling their intent for throw everything forward in search of a goal, and seconds later they almost got it.
Lambert collected the ball on the left, was given time and space to cut inside and thundered a strike against the bar with Smith beaten for the first time on the night.
Swindon's task was to get even harder with three minutes of normal time remaining.
Having only been booked just before, Simon Ferry clattered into another challenge and referee Keith Hill instantly produced a second yellow card for the on-loan midfielder.
But Town dug in, defended for their lives and hung on to claim what could be a vital win in their quest for League One promotion.
SOUTHAMPTON (4-4-2): Kelvin Davis; Wayne Thomas (Lloyd James 71), Radhi Jaidi, Jose Fonte, Dan Harding; Jason Puncheon, Dean Hammond (c) (David Connolly 71), Morgan Schneiderlin, Adam Lallana; Rickie Lambert, Lee Barnard (Papa Waigo N'Diaye 61)
Subs not used: Bartosz Bialkowski, Dan Seaborne, Paul Wotton, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
TOWN (4-5-1): Phil Smith; Stephen Darby, Scott Cuthbert (Lecsinel Jean-Francois 37), Gordon Greer (c), Alan Sheehan; Mark Marshall (Matt Ritchie 82), Jon-Paul McGovern, Jonathan Douglas, Simon Ferry, Danny Ward (Michael Timlin 87); Charlie Austin
Subs not used: Jakub Jesionkowski, Nathan Thompson, Craig Easton, Billy Bodin
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