SWINDON Town head coach Scott Lindsey said he “really enjoyed” his first game at the helm as a triallist-laden Robins side beat Melksham Town 3-2 at the Oakfield Stadium on Saturday.

Just four recognised names began the game as first-half captain Ricky Aguiar led out a team that included Harrison Minturn, Mo Dabre, and Sol Brynn – as well as seven trialists.

Following an early goal from one of the players hoping to earn a contract with Lindsey’s men, Melksham turned the game on its head via a very well-taken header from Luke Ballinger and a composed finish one-on-one from former Swindon striker Sol Pryce.

Aguiar drilled in from outside the box just before the break to pull the visitors level, and the professional club ultimately won the game late on when Harry Parsons and George Cowmeadow combined to set up another trialist in front of 1,592.

Asked what Lindsey could take out of a game which, by his own admission came too early in the schedule, the new Town boss said: “I think it’s important to have a proper look at these trialists, first and foremost.

“We want to get our eyes on them and see if there are any who are going to be good enough to add to the group.

“Secondly, we had a sprinkling of our own players out there too and it’s important for them to get some game-time as well.

“It’s vitally important to see everyone as much as possible, and I actually really enjoyed the game.”

The septet of trialists all enjoyed varying degrees of success against a Melksham side which contained several players who faced Bristol Rovers less than 24 hours previously.

Lindsey declined to reveal any names but stated a handful of hopeful faces would return to training for another week and potentially another competitive outing.

He said: “Without naming any names, they’ve worked really hard all week. Most of them have been with us all week and they’ve trained really well, so that’s a big plus.

“And watching them (against Melksham) gave us a different view because you see them in a match situation.

“There will be some coming back in for training next week, but I’m really pleased with all of them.

“Everyone’s attitude was really good, we played some good football at times, and it was important they improved their fitness by getting some vital minutes into their legs. I took a lot from the game.”