IT HAS become one of the hallmarks of the famed ‘Swindon Way’ and, sometimes, the first clues that one is on its way are met by moans and groans from supporters at the County Ground.

But just moments into Town’s 1-0 win over Chesterfield on Saturday, Swindon’s infamous short goal-kick routine very nearly led to the ball finding its way past Spireites goalkeeper Tommy Lee with less than two minutes on the scoreboard.

Over recent seasons, there have been many occasions of Town’s progressive play in their own third leading to the concession of possession, particularly when goalkeepers have played short passes to defenders, but this time, the gambit almost – almost – paid off perfectly.

Rather than pump the ball forward, Swindon stopper Jake Kean played a one-two with wing-back Bradley Barry.

Chesterfield’s Jay O’Shea gave chase and ended up isolated as Barry stormed forward down the right flank like a whippet before eventually laying the ball off to Jonathan Obika on the right of the box.

Meanwhile, while the men in blue shirts were entranced by Barry’s energetic surge from one end of the pitch to the other, a host of Swindon players had embarked on long-busting runs into the Spireites penalty area.

When Obika came to cross, he found himself akin to the proverbial kid in a candy shop as three team-mates lined up to finish off the move but when his ball was delivered, Raphael Branco was the man to make contact and his attempted finish cannoned off the body of Nicky Ajose to let the visitors off the hook.

That foray forward wasn’t a one-off for defender Branco, who drove to join in the attack on plenty of occasions as the match wore on.

With his 6ft 2in frame, the Brazilian may not immediately seem the ideal candidate to be abandoning his duties as part of Town’s central defensive trio for runs onto the right wing but nonetheless, Branco continued to add an unorthodox threat for Danny Wilson’s Chesterfield to deal with.