4:50pm Saturday 2nd May 2009
By Anthony Marshall
DEAN Keates' injury-time free-kick denied Town a final day victory, but a Simon Cox double earned Swindon a point away at Peterborough.
The prolific front man took his tally to 32 for the season, leaving him level in the race for the divisional Golden Boot alongside Bristol Rovers' Rickie Lambert, with two well-taken finishes.
Cox opened the scoring on 17 minutes with a curling effort, and although Craig Mackail-Smith equalised for the hosts on 40 minutes, Cox struck back almost immediately.
Posh striker Aaron McLean missed a second half penalty following Kevin Amankwaah's trip on George Boyd, while Jerel Ifil and Michael Timlin were both forced into late clearances off the goal line.
But, with the game deep into stoppage time, Keates stepped up to fire home a free-kick and earn the home side a share of the spoils.
Here are the key moments from today's game:
Two mins: Charlie Lee picks up possession just inside Swindon's half and drives into the box, jinking past a couple of challenges before poking the ball straight at Phil Smith.
Eight mins: Paul Coutts' corner is headed back across goal by Gabriel Zakuani, but Lee's close range effort is stopped by Smith.
10 mins: Lilian Nalis heads into the path of Billy Paynter and, from the edge of the box, he fired a left-foot shot just wide of the upright.
17 mins (GOAL 0-1 Cox): Simon Cox cuts outs Lee's pass across the back line, cuts inside Craig Morgan and curls a superb right-footed into the far corner for his 31st goal of the season.
20 mins: Peterborough break at pace and George Boyd feeds Aaron McLean inside the area, but Smith keeps out his low drive.
29 mins: Cox beats the offside trap but takes an early speculative effort from 35 yards which flies well wide.
39 mins: Some neat interplay from the home side sees full-back Russell Martin get free in the box. His shot is deflected by the leg of Jamie Vincent and the ball goes agonisingly the wrong side of the post and out for a corner.
40 mins (GOAL 1-1 Mackail-Smith): Coutts and Boyd work a short corner, and as the latter swings in a cross, Craig Mackail-Smith gets ahead of his marker to flick home.
42 mins (GOAL 1-2 Cox): Swindon hit back immediately. Michael Timlin challenges for the ball wide on the left. His delivery in bounces between Peterborough's centre-backs and Cox nips in, takes a touch and finishes past Joe Lewis.
47 mins: Posh centre-back Craig Morgan climbs well but heads Coutts' corner wide.
55 mins: Billy Paynter can only half-clear a free-kick from the touchline and Boyd fires in an acrobatic volley from 20 yards, but his shot flies wide of the far post.
57 minutes: A long ball over the top causes problems for Vincent, and McLean nips ahead of him.
However, he can only lift the effort over when he should have at least tested Smith.
62 mins: Boyd tricks his way past Amankwaah, who is adjudged to have brought the midfielder down inside the box, just seconds after coming on as a substitute.
McLean takes the spot kick, but his effort is weak and Smith guesses right to turn it behind for a corner.
65 mins: Town work the ball forward well, with Cox feeding Vincent down the left flank. His pull-back finds Timlin, who takes a touch before firing in a wayward effort which flies into the side netting.
74 mins: Boyd's low cross finds McLean, who controls and turns Lescinel Jean-Francois in one movement. But his strike is saved by Smith.
84 mins: Peterborough sub Shaun Batt's shot is brilliantly kept out by Phil Smith with a full-length, one-handed save.
As the ball is worked back into the area, Martin strikes low but Jerel Ifil is on hand to clear from the goal line.
87 mins: Lee Frecklington strides forward and forces Smith into another fantastic stop.
From the resulting corner, Zakuani's header appears to be going in, until Timlin nods away from underneath his own crossbar.
90 mins (GOAL 2-2 Keates): Dean Keates curls a 30-yard free-kick around the wall and past Smith to score a stunning equaliser for the home side.
PETERBOROUGH (4-4-2): Joe Lewis (James McKeown 77); Russell Martin (c), Craig Morgan, Gabriel Zakuani, Charlie Lee; Dominic Green (Shaun Batt 77), Paul Coutts, Dean Keates, George Boyd; Aaron McLean, Craig Mackail-Smith (Lee Frecklington 71)
Subs not used: Chris Westwood, Sergio Torres
TOWN (3-5-2): Phil Smith; Jerel Ifil, Lescinel Jean-Francois, Jamie Vincent; Jon-Paul McGovern, Craig Easton (Mark Marshall 78), Owain Tudur Jones, Lilian Nalis (c) (Kevin Amankwaah 60), Michael Timlin; Billy Paynter, Simon Cox (Anthony McNamee 90)
Subs not used: Jack Smith, Hamdi Razak
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