IF THERE is one thing Swindon Town have done well this season, it is respond in the face of adversity.

A third of the way through the League Two campaign, Town’s form in 2017-18 remains best described as ‘inconsistent’.

David Flitcroft’s troops have played 17 matches in all competitions. They have won eight but also lost eight.

And although they have put back-to-back wins on the board just once, they have also had the indignity of suffering defeat in consecutive matches only once too.

All that is probably why the prospect of Wycombe Wanderers heading back east up the M4 on Saturday evening from the Energy Check County Ground with three points to their name was always likely to be far from the certainty the stats seemed to suggest.

Wanderers arrived in Wiltshire boasting a 13-match unbeaten streak away from home, a run dating back until February. Swindon, meanwhile, had won just twice in eight games on home soil this term.

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Keshi Anderson blocks a header from Wycombe's Dan Scarr

However, Town’s ability to put disappointing defeats behind them has been a hallmark of their season – such as the tremendous wins away at Luton Town and Mansfield Town in the wake of a hefty home loss against Barnet and last-gasp agony at Cheltenham Town respectively.

So with the pain of the late midweek reverse at home to Lincoln City still fresh in the memory, it was no real surprise that Swindon were able to put that result right on Saturday.

In truth, despite the narrow nature of the final scoreline, they were actually able to end Wycombe’s impressive away run with comparative ease thanks to a smash-and-grab first half followed by a battling backs-to-the-wall effort in the second.

In testing weather conditions where a swirling wind played havoc and gave each side a clear advantage for the 45 minutes in which they had it at their backs, one moment of quality was also likely to decide the outcome.

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Town fans celebrate Harry Smith's goal

Luckily for Swindon, it was Harry Smith who provided it – and then some.

Smith’s stunning volley after just 15 minutes was the highlight of an impressive return to the Town line-up.

The on-loan Millwall striker had been back at his parent club over the previous fortnight to deal with personal issues but was restored to Flitcroft’s starting XI against Wanderers to cover the absence of injured top scorer Luke Norris.

The 22-year-old needed just a quarter-of-an-hour back in Swindon colours to feel at home again, with his superb strike enough to seal the points for Town and coming with the added bonus of lifting them into the play-off places.

Smith’s return to the side was one of just two changes made by Town boss Flitcroft from the previous disappointing defeat at home to Lincoln.

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Amine Linganzi wins a header against Adebayo Akinfenwa

Alongside Norris, Paul Mullin was the other man to miss out as he dropped to the bench and saw his place out wide on the right taken by Donal McDermott.

With a strong wind at their backs in the first half, Town used the conditions to their advantage and peppered balls into the Wycombe box early on.

First, a deep Matt Taylor free-kick was met by Amine Linganzi, with Scott Brown pushing the bouncing effort over the bar, before Taylor’s subsequent corner was headed back across goal by Matt Preston but the Wanderers goalkeeper was able to gather as Smith looked to pounce.

Town persevered with the tactic and it provided them with the opening goal after 15 minutes. Again Taylor sent a good deep ball into the box, with Smith shrugging off the attentions of Joe Jacobson at the back post before unleashing a brilliant volley into the top corner.

The home side continued to dictate play and Keshi Anderson and McDermott combined well on the left, with the latter pulling the ball back across the box for the waiting Linganzi but he sent a scuffed snap-shot wide.

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Harry Smith rues a missed opportunity

Anderson was proving a nuisance for the Wycombe back-line and scampered up the right soon afterwards to float in a ball to Smith, whose header was met by a good save from Brown, before the Crystal Palace loanee brought the best out of the visiting stopper himself with a powerful long-range effort.

It took 35 minutes for Wycombe to offer any real attacking threat and even that was of no real alarm to Town as Sam Saunders blazed high over the bar after Adebayo Akinfenwa had brushed off Olly Lancashire to send him into the box.

Town were swiftly back in the ascendancy but no further clear-cut chances arrived before the interval and they headed back to the changing rooms looking more than good value for their one-goal cushion.

Swindon goalkeeper Reice Charles-Cook was a virtual spectator throughout the first half but had to be on his toes within five minutes of the restart to push away a low drive from Paris Cowan-Hall on the angle.

Town responded and a good ball from McDermott sent Smith through on goal but, after he had appeared to shake off the attentions of Adam El-Abd, the Millwall loanee opted to shoot too soon instead of baring down on Brown and fired the ball harmlessly into the side-netting.

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Paul Mullin gets a helping hand from David Flitcroft and Joe Jacobson, after being felled by the Wycombe player

After a stagnant period, Charles-Cook was called into action again in the home goal with 20 minutes to play as he got down well to smother a smart snap-shot from Nick Freeman.

Again, the conditions took their toll on the contest as quality deserted the game once more but Town finished strongly and substitute Mullin went close to a late second for the hosts, stinging the palms of Brown with a close-range effort.

Wanderers were able to galvanise themselves for one last push as the contest ticked into stoppage time, with Ebere Eze firing through a crowded box and over the bar as Town bravely held on for their hard-earned win.