SWINDON Town head coach Scott Lindsey championed the contribution of his team’s central players following the Robins’ 1-1 draw away at Carlisle United on Saturday.

Lindsey felt the spine of his team – made up of Sol Brynn, Angus MacDonald, Mathieu Baudry, Saidou Khan, Ben Gladwin, and Jacob Wakeling – were integral to a competitive display at Brunton Park in uncomfortable heat.

Wakeling put Swindon ahead with his first professional goal in the 22nd minute, only for the in-form Kristian Dennis to slot home moments before the break.

But against a Carlisle side who have not lost in League Two in the embryonic stages of the campaign, Swindon gave as good as they got and deserved their draw.

Explaining why he felt his team was able to scrap away and control proceedings in spells, Lindsey said: “I think the spine of the team was key to that point.

“That’s what we want, strong players through the middle of the pitch, and I believe I’ve got more than that – I believe I’ve got some really strong players all over.

“I was really pleased with us, certainly in the first half. I thought we were dominant and controlled, but we conceded at a bad time.

“It was three or four minutes before half-time, so we’ve got to shut up shop and be even more diligent in our defending, which we weren’t, and we gave them the opportunity to score.”

After muddling through the first 10 to 15 minutes without conceding, Swindon eventually found their feet and went on to enjoy the better of the subsequent 25 minutes which included their only goal.

But a shaky period just before half-time ultimately cost Town all three points, and Lindsey was frustrated with the timing of the equaliser but pleased with the second-half response from his team.

He said: “We spoke at half-time, and I told the players not to feel negative about the goal.

“I said: “it’s happened, but we have to understand how we’ve played in the first half and continue that.”

“I did feel the second half did become a little bit more of a basketball game as we became anxious.

“I think that’s the way it is at the moment, we did feel anxious, and we want to have that dominance and that control and be in charge of the game.

“That control did slip a little bit in the second half, but all in all I was really pleased.”