THE FULL REPORT: Laying the Roots for success

He said the poor quality of his team’s play and the result it got were what made football an amazing game.

Whilst in terms of being able to return to Wiltshire still unbeaten and in League One’s top six, that was certainly true. What actually took place in Southend was quite far from amazing. In fact it was barely more than dull.

Though this will not bother many of the near 600 travelling Swindonians who got to see their side return to winning ways after two draws and a League Cup defeat from their last three outings.

They were allowed such a jubilant journey home after Fabien Robert converted Nathan Byrne’s through ball, in what was one of the game’s few moments of real high class.

Town were some way from their best, but they did show other qualities. They were rugged and determined in defence, perhaps spurred on by the late drama on Tuesday night which robbed them of two points their play had probably merited.

Lawrence Vigouroux in particular was excellent and made a string of good saves to enhance his burgeoning reputation among the County Ground faithful.

The keeper was ably supported by his defence and in front of them, Drissa Traore, who came on to replace the injured Nathan Thompson for an extended run out.

The captain’s groin strain, which means he is certain to miss the visit of Sheffield United next week, is perhaps more of a worry for Town than their lack of fluency at Roots Hall. Swindon’s thin squad is already looking stretched.

Cooper had stuck with the same side who were unlucky to only come away with only a point from Tuesday’s clash with Port Vale and lined up with same 4-3-3 formation.

Sadly, the opening five minutes were the most promising of the half for Town.

Byrne in particular looked hungry to return to the scoresheet. He signalled what seemed to be an early statement of his intentions with a low drive which required a smart save from Southend stopper Daniel Bentley. In fact, that effort turned out to be a high watermark for the half.

It was not long before the visitors were forced to switch their side around. Thompson pulled up on the far side of the pitch after an innocuous looking challenge, clutching his groin.

Traore was summoned from the bench as Jordan Williams moved into defence, with Town switching to 3-5-2.

It was a big blow for Town. They failed to find much rhythm after the loss of their skipper as they swapped players around into unusual positions, leaving their play disjointed.

It was a shame the visitors were so off-colour because Southend’s system allowed for plenty of gaps between their midfield and defence. When Swindon were able to exploit those holes, they looked threatening, but too often, mistakes led to moves breaking down.

More than once, Byrne fell on the ball while running at the Shrimpers’ defence and Robert was equally wasteful when he got into the box, spraying an attempted shot well wide when well-placed.

Southend were having the better of the game. They almost capitalised on the disarray among the Swindon ranks when Noel Hunt headed inches wide from Will Atkinson’s cross.

At this stage, the trio behind main striker Hunt – David Worrall, Atkinson and Jack Payne – looked inventive and too often were left in space to deliver crosses. Vigouroux had to concentrate to pluck the deluge of balls coming out of the air, and did so well.

With the half wearing on, Town got their act together defensively but still were still struggling to build up much momentum as an attacking force. As such, the ball seemed to be constantly coming back towards Vigouroux’s goal.

Though the danger was remote, occasionally the dial swung into the red. Worrall looked the man most likely to threaten and it was he who came closest to breaking the deadlock. His fierce effort from the edge of the box just past the half-hour mark rattled the stanchion in front of the travelling Town fans and drew gasps from the crowd.

At the other end, Town were to get one more half-chance of their own before the break. A half-cleared corner came back to Brandon Ormonde-Ottewill and his second attempt to get the ball into the box found Robert, whose header under pressure flashed just wide.

By the time the referee Andy Woolmer brought the half to an end, almost everyone inside the greenhouse of Roots Hall was glad for a break from the tedium.

Swindon skipper Nathan Byrne limps off injured after 10 minutes

The second period started in a livelier fashion and almost immediately, Vigouroux was called as on to save from Hunt after the Ireland international wriggled free in the box.

Hunt, whose intelligent movement was causing Town’s defence plenty of issues at this stage, next turned creator. A swift Southend break resulted in Worrall swinging in a cross from the left which Hunt was able to guide into the path of Payne with his head. The onrushing midfielder had the whole goal to aim at and plenty of time to play with, but blazed his effort wide.

Despite an increasing cohesion among the Swindon defence, they were to suffer one more scare shortly after as Hunt rattled the crossbar with a fierce strike, but was correctly ruled offside.

Having survived the best efforts of Hunt to give his side the lead, Swindon quickly went about punishing Southend for the their profligacy. Byrne picked up the ball in one of the pockets of space behind the Shrimpers’ midfield and after a moment’s hesitation, set off at the back four.

Clever movement has played a large part in Robert’s early success in a Swindon shirt and once more it allowed him the opportunity to continue that form.

With Byrne driving at the heart of the defence, the Frenchman moved wide and when his teammate’s inch-perfect pass arrived in his stride, he took a touch to steady himself before placing past a helpless Bentley in the Southend goal.

It was a tougher finish than it looked, with Robert under heavy pressure from the scrambling Southend defence.

It was a lead Town hardly deserved, but they clung on to it like a stubborn dog unwilling to let go of his favourite stick.

Southend bombarded the visitors' defence with balls into the box in the game’s closing 20 minutes. Raphael Branco, shifted to right-back in the second half, performed admirably, as did Williams and Jordan Turnbull.

When they failed, Vigouroux was there to provide the last line of defence.

Two saves in particular from the Liverpool youngster were outstanding.

With 10 minutes remaining, a Worrall cross from the left was met firmly by the head of substitute Myles Weston, forcing the keeper to react and divert the ball over the bar with just one hand.

The second came even deeper into the game. With the clock having lapsed well beyond the 90 minutes. Another Shrimpers’ substitute, Joe Pigott, got free in the box and lashed an effort from close range which Vigouroux somehow smothered.

Those timely interventions ultimately meant Town avoided falling to another late equaliser.

Swindon will reflect upon this as a bonus given their performance at Roots Hall. They have already played better than this and not won, but if they are to maintain their solid start, they will need to improve.

If they do however, given the relative lack of strength in League One this season, this could yet well be another good campaign for the Cooper’s men.