SWINDON Town have enjoyed and endured varied fortunes at Walsall down the years.

The first clash between the Robins and Walsall in the West Midlands came in the Rushden Charity Cup in 1896, when the Saddlers emerged 6-2 winners.

Thirty-one years later the two teams met in the Football League at Walsall for the first time. Swindon completed the season’s double over Walsall with a 2-1 victory in which Les Roberts and Harry Morris scored.

Town won, lost and drew on a fairly regular basis at Walsall right the way through until the 1970s.

Following a 2-0 success on the road in April 1969, when Don Rogers scored twice, however, Walsall was not a happy hunting ground for the men from Wiltshire.

On 14 consecutive occasions between 1969 and 2006, Swindon travelled back from Walsall without a victory to show for their efforts, a run which included six successive defeats.

That miserable run was finally broken six years ago, when Lukas Jutkiewicz scored his first goal for the Robins and Christian Roberts thrashed in a penalty in a 2-0 success.

With the victory, the tide seems to have turned in Town’s favour. In their last five games in the West Midlands, Swindon have lost just once - 2-1 in November 2008.

Overall, Town’s away record at Walsall reads: played 43, won 11, drawn 12, lost 20.