SWINDON Town claimed a third League Two victory in a row following a dramatic 2-1 win away at Grimsby Town on Saturday.

The Robins were excellent in the first 45 and deservedly led thanks to goals from Luke Jephcott and Ronan Darcy – their first for the club – after Ryan Taylor had equalised for Grimsby.

But a resurgent Mariners side took the game to Swindon after the break, and their cause was helped when Saidou Khan was sent off in the 53rd minute.

As the kitchen sink was thrown at the visitors inside seven minutes of added time, Scott Lindsey’s men produced three incredible pieces of defending to clear either off the line or in front of their own goalmouth. Sol Brynn produced two of them, while Remeao Hutton was in the right place at the right time to prevent a Mariners’ equaliser.

Swindon’s fourth win of the season lifted the Robins up to eighth ahead of next weekend’s home game with Northampton Town.

Swindon made two changes to the side which beat Doncaster Rovers 1-0 in League Two seven days previously. Louis Reed missed out through injury while Jonny Williams was away on international duty with Wales. Jephcott started down the middle of a three, and Khan anchored the midfield.

After an impressive cameo against Plymouth Argyle on Tuesday in the EFL Trophy, Rushian Hepburn-Murphy won a spot on the bench.

Looking to make it two wins from two in the new green third kit, a passive first 10 minutes was left behind as Jephcott opened his account for Swindon in the 13th minute.

Ben Gladwin's corner was initially volleyed at goal by Frazer Blake-Tracy and kept out smartly by Max Crocombe. From the second phase of play, Darcy turned down a pass back out to the wing and drove into the box before shooting towards the left corner. Crocombe turned it out, but only into the path of Jephcott who tapped into an empty net with his left.

Jephcott later saw a couple of half-chances blocked out by desperate Grimsby defending, and Jacob Wakeling was unsuccessful in his appeals for a penalty midway through the first half.

But with Swindon appearing relatively comfortable on their travels, Grimsby found the equaliser with one of few first-half shots. Gavin Holohan powered through Swindon’s midfield before laying off for Harry Clifton to let fly from outside the box. 

The effort took a huge deflection and bounced into the path of Taylor, but he did really well to cut the ball back across Sol Brynn with his left and find the bottom right corner.

Once the equaliser went in, the game became far more open and those inside Blundell Park were treated to an entertaining next 20 minutes. Ultimately, the first period ended with a second goal for Lindsey’s men – one which the visitors almost certainly deserved.

Gladwin was found down the right channel via a clever clip over the top, and with just Crocombe to beat he had the presence of mind to look up and cut a pass back for Darcy to tap into an empty net from eight yards out.

Following a decent performance by referee Declan Bourne in the first half, the man in the middle dropped his standards considerably in the second half and made a string of questionable decisions which led to Swindon finishing the game with 10 men.

Khan was shown a first yellow card for an incident that barely constituted a foul in the 50th minute. The midfielder was subsequently given his marching orders 13 minutes later following a poor tackle in midfield.

Rushian Hepburn-Murphy was introduced as a substitute shortly before the hour mark but lasted just 15 minutes before breaking down with what seemed to be another injury.

The final 25 minutes of action turned into a training game of attack versus defence, with Lindsey’s men limiting the Mariners to very little in the final third. But inside seven minutes of added time, Swindon’s goal was living an extremely charmed life as Paul Hurst’s men tried to turn the screw.

Brynn pulled off two world-class saves to deny Grimsby attackers, while Hutton was also on hand to clear off the line when an equaliser appeared certain.

But, somehow, the Robins held on and escaped from Blundell Park with a memorable victory.

GTFC starting XI: Crocombe, Efete, Smith, Waterfall (c), Glennon, Kiernan, Clifton, Hunt, Holohan, Richardson, Taylor.

GTFC substitutes: Maher, Green, Pepple, Maguire-Drew, Simmonds, Khan, Orsi.

STFC starting XI: Brynn, Hutton, MacDonald, Clayton, Blake-Tracy, Khan, Gladwin, Darcy, Shade, Jephcott, Wakeling.

STFC substitutes: Brann, Iandolo, Baudry, Aguiar, Hepburn-Murphy, Lavinier, Roberts.

Attendance: 6,805 (453)

Referee: Declan Bourne