SWINDON Town head coach Ben Garner took it as a “great sign” that he was disappointed with a draw against Stevenage given his squad was missing three key players and the group have only been together six weeks.

With Jonny Williams, Anthony Grant, and Kaine Kesler-Hayden all away on international duty, Town salvaged a point at the Lamex Stadium courtesy of Jack Payne’s 94th minute penalty.

Ellis Iandolo and Harry McKirdy both enjoyed fine games as they took their opportunity for a start they may not have received if everyone was available.

Garner said prior to the League Two fixture that he had no desire to postpone given his trust in the group, and that faith was repaid with a strong performance from Town.

Commenting on many of the positives Garner witnessed from his team, the Town boss said: “Our performance today was a good sign to me, we had two-thirds possession and 15-plus shots coming to a really good side in Stevenage.

“To come here and play in the manner that we did was pleasing. I was disappointed not to be ahead at half-time, I thought on the balance of play with the chances and territory that we had we deserved to be in front.

“We just didn’t take the chances to be a bit more ruthless and get the goal. It’s a great sign that we’re disappointed with one point considering where we started from five or six weeks ago.”

Once Ben Coker had put Stevenage in front early in the second half, the hosts retreated and attempted to see out the win from inside their own half.

While Garner was pleased with most of his team’s response, the Town boss did criticise his players for not always moving the ball quickly enough.

He said: “We want to maintain our composure, but we probably could have done things a little bit quicker in terms of the speed of the ball.

“When a team sits in like they did, it’s difficult because there’s no space behind or between their lines – they’re conceding ground in front. It was a case of trying to probe and open them up to carry a threat.

“We’ve got to do that a bit quicker, because if you move the ball quickly there can sometimes be a lapse in concentration from the opposition that we need.

“But I can’t be too critical because we changed shape and the players took it on well – and we ended up getting a point.”