THE moment this tie was announced, I said that it would end up on TV and hey presto.
If ever there was a chance of a first round giant killing, then this is it.
A team from the National League playing a club two divisions higher will always be considered the underdogs.
Yet, the way the Town have been performing, the likely outcome is for Eastleigh to proceed to the 2nd round.
Most Town fans think that the giant killing will happen if Swindon are the ones that pull off the win to progress.
Swindon’s performance in recent seasons in this competition has not been very impressive.
2012/13 beaten by Macclesfield 0-2 then of the Conference
2013/14 beaten by Macclesfield 4-0 then of the Conference
2014/15 beaten by Cheltenham Town 5-0 then of League Two
2015/16 beaten by Rochdale 3-1
You have to go back to the Di Canio era when we last made any impact in this competition.
In the 2011/12 season, when we were last in League Two, we made it through to the third round where we were to face Wigan Athletic, of the Premier League, at home. On that day, we were carrying out the giant killing duties.
Cast your minds back to that day in January. Nearly 14,000 in the County Ground. The Bank opened up for Town fans for the first time in a long time.
I was there, behind the goal, only to watch us concede a first half penalty. The joy of the ball striking the post, the anguish as the follow-up ended in the back of the net, followed again by joy as Alan Connell scored the equaliser just before half-time.
As the second half progressed, there seemed only one team in it. A few scares from Wigan as they came close to re-taking the lead, but then up stepped that giant of a man Paul Benson, a half-time substitute.
You could see the build-up of play from Swindon. Down the right wing, the ball played into the box and Paul gathered, turned and struck the ball sweetly into the net. The crowd were ecstatic. What a match, what a day.
We won the Ronnie Radford award for that game that season for the best victory over a higher ranked opponent. Unfortunately, we were unable to repeat the feat at Leicester in the next round, going out 2-0.
Back to this season. I don’t think anyone will need to get excited about this performance. If the Town do pull off the win, it won’t be considered a giant killing, but a miracle.
The Questions
Q1. Correct full-time score
Q2. Attendance
Q3. 1st STFC goal scorer and time
Q4. Number of corners
Q5. STFC percentage of possession
Q6. Time of last STFC sub
Q7. Number of away fans
Q8. Number of yellow cards in the game
ALL ENTRIES IN BY 19:00 pm Friday, November 4.
Come on you Reds
Rebel.
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