Robins' Wembley Dream put on hold as they crash out of the cup at Molineux

Unfortunately, it appears that most of last night's Carling Cup 3rd Round Events has become overshadowed by the inexcusable violent clashes of so-called "fans" before and during the tie at Upton Park between Millwall and West Ham. However, on we press; football goes on, so I'll get on with a blog post with regards to my Carling Cup evening to show that I feel there is no room for this behaviour in the beautiful game.

The lads and myself were to make the 2 hour trip north up the M5 to the black country, Wolverhampton to see Danny Wilson's men face Wolverhampton Wanderers. If you read my earlier blog post you will have seen that supporter and manager alike had a lot of confidence that we had the ability to cause an upset last night - and a path to the 4th Round came within touching distance as we held Wolves to a draw over 120 minutes.

We made the journey north at 3:30pm, belly full of Mum's Roast Dinner and a few tinnies for the road. The expectation of 1000+ Swindon fans making the journey became more realistic as we saw increasing numbers of decked out Robins' cars, scarves flapping and horns tooting the further up the M5 we got. Unfortunately, our journey came to a halt as the tinnies took effect and Will's bladder became the size of a small baby. A parked van just off the services slip road was the toilet of choice for Will - it was either this or an empty can and those of us who watched The Inbetweeners all know how that ends. Once our body's were rejuvenated we realised we weren't the only ones who had picked the Frankley Services as the piss-break - everywhere you looked were fellow Swindonians in their Reds, Whites and Blues. Suddenly, it hits me. "The Buzz" has struck and I'm ready for whatever this evening can throw at me. What I forgot was that when your a Swindon fan, the proverbial shit that hits the fan changes to an enormous steaming pile of rotting feces hitting an industrial warehouse hangar air-conditioning fan. Believe me that's messy.

We arrived at our destination at just after 5:30pm, found a parking space then swiftly made our way to the nearest pub - "The Goalpost". I'm sure on a Premiership Saturday Afternoon this is a hovel for Wolves followers, however on a lowly Carling Cup mid-week fixture against League 1 opposition, the Swindon boys are able to take over. 3 or 4 chilled beverages later (bearing in mind Badge was pissed when he got out of the car), kick off time is upon us so we made our way to the Molineux away section, took our seats and prepared ourselves once again for the madness to ensue on the pitch. The atmosphere was buzzing, I'm not completely sure how many travelling fans we took away, though heard from a steward after the match that it was close to 1400. Now then - on to the nitty gritty.

Swindon's line up looked a familiar site, Wilson ringing only 3 changes from our brave 2-2 draw away at Oldham 3 days earlier. Whilst Wolves apparently made 11 changes from their defeat at Man City - most notable players being summer signings from our local rivals Reading in Marcus Hahnemann between the sticks and striker Kevin Doyle.

Town shot-stopper David Lucas had to be on top form throughout 90 minutes and gracefully stepped up to the task making some fine saves and a couple of spectacular ones to keep the scores level. Kevin Doyle and 17-year old debutant Nathaniel Mendez-Laing thrived on Marcus Hahnemann's direct style, picking up the keeper's long punts up-field on various occasions but struggling to work David Lucas. Mendez-Laing did force a superb save out of Lucas on 16 minutes when a fine shot destined for the top corner was tipped over by the outstretched Keeper who appeared to be thriving in this underdog environment. Half-chances at both ends ensued but no team really looked like breaking the deadlock.

Captain Gordon Greer donned the ever familiar head bandage that we've seen a few times already this season just after 20 minutes, but the captain led by example and continued to boss the back line despite his injury.On 36 minutes Town nearly stunned the premier league outfit by coming close to taking the lead. Anthony McNamee cut into the left hand edge of the box and with his weaker foot, curled a shot around and over Hahnemann but was denied by the crossbar as the ball deflected off and was cleared away.

And minutes later the Swindon fans had their head in their hands again as Wolves were once more saved by the woodwork. Tope Obadeyi accelerated past Wolves defender George Elokobi and unleashed a powerful left footed shot, beating Hahnemann but the ball rebounded off the post into the path of front man Billy Paynter. Paynter poked the ball home as the away section erupted but celebrations were halted early thanks to the linesman's flag signalling offside.

After the break there were few chances and we resulted in amusing ourselves with the Paul Chuckle-brother lookalike steward and an over-zealous ball boy looking to steal his colleagues thunder. Interest was renewed in the game on 78 minutes as Swindon picked up a free kick. Jon-Paul McGovern's cross was over hit but picked up by Mark Marshall. The youngster fired a shot away from a tight angle, only again to see the frame of the goal shake as the goalpost put the ball out for a goal kick.

In the closing stages of normal time, Wolves' Andy Keogh could and probably should have put the game beyond doubt and given me an early night as he met a long-ball over the top of the defence. As Lucas rushed to meet the striker, Keogh's lob fell the wrong side of the bar and onto the roof of the net. As 90 minutes came to a close there was an air of optimism that maybe this was our chance to steal a win as extra-time was confirmed. A quick toilet break saw us back in our seats just in time for kick off.

The further 30 minutes was played at lightning speed and was truly nail-biting antics. Wolves started the brightest as Lucas was brought into action to deny substitute Andy Edwards from giving the hosts the lead.

At the other end, big Kevin Amankwaah unleashed his speed as we've seen so many times already this season. He found youngster Lloyd Macklin to his right who managed to whip in a cross but Marshall could only head it wide.

Andy Keogh then forced another smart save from David Lucas who throughout the game had made this goalkeeping malarky look simple!

In the second period of 15, pacey winger Alan O'Brien made his way into the fray to replace Billy Paynter who received a standing ovation for his efforts. And it wasn't long before O'Brien made his mark on the game. A sweet through-ball allowed him to zoom past the back line and tap the ball away from the onrushing Hahnemann who subsequently brought down the ex-Newcastle Academy youngster. Hahnemann's tackle incensed the travelling supporters and he received a yellow card for his efforts but Swindon were unable to make use of the position and the referee soon brought 120 minutes of play to close. With the scores still level at 0-0 the dreaded lottery that is the penalty shoot beckoned and my heart was well and truly in my mouth.

It may have came as a shock at the lads who stepped up to take the Swindon penalties. I'm not sure how they were picked but I have a lot of respect for the lads if they stood up and decided they would be taking one. Our first 5 takers consisted of:

1. Full back Callum Kennedy - 19 years of age
2. Winger Mark Marshall - 23 years of age
3. Centre half Craig Easton - 30 years of age
4. Striker Lloyd Macklin - 18 years of age
5. Goalkeeper David Lucas - 31 years of age

As you can see, 3 of the takers were aged 23 or under with little to no experience in a domestic cup penalty shootout, away from home and against Premiership opposition and yet they still had the balls to stand up and be counted, and to convert the penalties.

Unfortunately David Lucas wasn't able to keep out any of the Wolves penalties so sudden death would be the order of the day, a final way of separating Premiership outfit Wolverhampton Wanderers and League 1 Swindon Town, a whole 2 divisions below.

Wolves' Neill Collins converted his penalty, to pile all the pressure onto the next Swindon taker who had to score to keep Town's Carling Cup dreams alive. Up stepped 28 year old captain Gordon Greer, a true rock at the heart of the Swindon set up. As someone you would expect to convert, his spot-kick shook the right-hand frame of the goal as Swindon were once again denied by the woodwork and dropped out of the cup.The travelling fans, totally gutted at being unceremoniously dumped out of the cup after watching a performance as we did, serenaded the heartbroken Greer and teammates with a chorus of "We'll never die" and "We love you Swindon" to show our gratitude towards the attitude and effort of the players. I for one am proud of the lads wearing our colours. Not once were we outplayed by Premiership boys Wolverhampton and once again it took the heartbreak of penalties to destroy the dreams which came so close to becoming a reality.

The journey home seemed a short one as I drifted in and out of sleep thanks to the terrible singing of the inebriated Badger, but this morning I woke with my feelings once again intact. The lads showed a good account of themselves and we were unlucky not to be in the hat for the next round this Saturday, and I cannot fault one thing from last night.

Onwards and upwards! We'll take the FA Cup instead!!

Robins look to upset McCarthy's Wolves

This evening will see the lads and I make the journey north to the black country as underdogs at Molineux - the home of Wolverhampton Wanderers. I'm chuffed to bits that we've got Premiership opposition, sure getting big spenders Manchester City would have been quality, but imagine that journey on a Tuedsay evening!

Nope, I'm happy with the tie we got and I'm quietly confident that we've got the chance of causing a major upset early on in the cup. But while I'm keeping my cards close to my chest, Dan the Man our Swindon Messiah is quite the opposite!

“We do fancy our chances a bit.

“The bookies won’t give us much of a chance, but I think Mick McCarthy (Wolves manager) will give us a chance and we’ll give ourselves a chance because that’s what football is.

“In a one-off situation like this anything can happen. Everyone outside the club will expect us to lose, but it doesn’t always work that way as we’ve seen before.

“We know we’ll give 100 per cent, we know what commitment it’s going to take, and it’s up to Wolves to beat us.

“Mick knows it won’t be an easy game, and certainly we’re not going to propose it will be an easy game for them.”

Fighting talk from our manager who looks to be putting out a strong team for the cup encounter tonight, whether thats through choice of his own or not as our squad looks a bit thin on the ground at the moment. Either way there certainly seems to be a lot of respect from Big Mick McCarthy towards Danny and the team that he his moulding for Championship football as he had this to say:

"Win and we've won, lose and we're damned - there's nothing in between!" he said.

"I know Danny's team will play football no question. They'll be well organised.

"Let's not forget Danny took Barnsley into the Premier League and the chant was 'it's just like watching Brazil'.

"They play great football and it will be competitive just like he was."

Its nice to be receiving praise from managers of caliber such as Mick McCarthy and it makes me wonder if a number of manager have their right eye on Swindon from time to time. I say lets give them something to look twice at with a result tonight at Molineux. It won't be easy but I'm not counting us out until the 90 minutes are up tonight.

See you at Wembley ;-)

Town accelerate into top Greer

24 hours previously I'd hinted that as long as we can keep Lambert quiet, we've got every chance of taking the 3 points on Tuesday night. 24 hours later I find myself stood in the Merlin, pint of amber nectar in hand, buoyantly conversing the subject matter at hand; how for 90 minutes Gordon Greer had not only silenced the 27 year old front man, but we had completely outplayed Saints. Save for some goalkeeping heroics from Kelvin Davis, the game could have finished with a much more convincing score line to match the performance.

As a Swindon fan, you know exactly the feelings and emotions Southampton followers will have been through recently, but despite all this the Saints faithful packed into their allocation pushing the County Ground attendance to a healthy 11,673 and making sure the atmosphere would be electric. But if this was the Saints marching in, the Reds came steaming in!

The match saw a lively start, pre-season fatigue appeared non-existent and both sets of players seemed up for it but it was Swindon who grabbed the bull by its horns. The Robins' attacking game seemed fluent and snappy. Anthony McNamee got some menacing early crosses away and the home fans were given a clear indication of how The Reds wanted to play this game. On 9 minutes first blood was drawn. Jon-Paul McGovern's right boot delivered a sublime corner to pick out an unmarked teenage giant in Sean Morrison. The defender made no mistake, driving his header into the top corner of Davis' goal. As the home stands erupted in jubilation the noisy Saints fans were finally out sung, albeit for a short time.

Town were completely on top and trying to force the issue, whipping in crosses left, right and centre. Jean-Francois Lescinel steered a header just wide with 21 minutes on the clock after yet another teasing cross from Anthony McNamee. The Swindon faithful erupted soon after as everybody but the match officials saw Wayne Thomas lead with an arm catching Billy Paynter in an aerial challenge. A few words of disagreement were shared by the home fans.

4 minutes later the scores should have been equal as Saints’ best chance of the game was gifted to them on a plate. Goal scoring hero Sean Morrison nearly became the villain after his extremely weak pass back to Lucas was intercepted by Rickie Lambert. However, his audacious lob attempt over the oncoming Lucas was easily gathered by the goalkeeper, much to the jeers of the Swindon fans.

Southampton were determined not to give the Robins an easy flight. On 36 minutes they received their second corner of the match. The out swinging delivery was headed back into the fray by Lambert, but Wayne Thomas couldn’t keep his header down under pressure from Billy Paynter and Kevin Amankwaah and Town held on to their lead.

I was off my seat again 3 minutes on (and nearly fell onto the row in front, too many ciders) as Swindon very nearly doubled their lead on 39 minutes. Anthony McNamee found himself in a crossing position following a nice bit of trickery. He delivered the cross from the left to meet the head of striker Billy Paynter on the edge of the 6-yard box. Paynter was expertly denied his first league goal by Kelvin Davis' outstretched leg who couldn't have known anything about it except for using those goalkeeping instincts we see from the crazy breed. From where I was sat it was in, only the last component that makes a goal never came - the bulge of the net.

Southampton then had a half chance as the 4th Official's bored indicated 1 minute extra was to be played. Greer was reprimanded for a foul on Lloyd James. A quick free kick earned the Saints a corner as Jonathan Douglas deflected a useful looking ball behind. Swindon's defence looked uncertain for the first time as they yearned for an individual to take control and make a clearance. The ball finally dropped to Jacob Mellis whose shot was sliced wide of Lucas' goal. The first half was brought to a close and the Swindon players left the pitch to a standing ovation after witnessing an impressive half against ex-championship Southampton.

As darkness fell around the County Ground the Swindon fans had found their voice. Though still being out sung by the travelling Saints, they helped push for a second goal. The 2nd half saw much of the same as Wilson's men forced chance after chance and were kept out by the expertise of Kelvin Davis or his scrambling backline. A hashed Southampton clearance gifted a shot from the right hand side for JP McGovern who forced a diving save from Davis as he managed to deflect the ball clear. Town looked increasingly dangerous from corners; Billy Paynter had another good header saved by Davis, and a shot he probably knew nothing about was deflected over following Jonathan Douglas' volley across goal. Kevin Amankwaah then picked up the ball well after a challenge on the halfway. As he stretched his long legs and charged forward, he found Anthony McNamee on his right. McNamee chose to curl his shot round Davis but picked the wrong choice as Davis easily gathered the ball when power over placement might have been the better option.

Sean Morrison picked up a knock to his head. He opted to play on and had a bandage applied giving the players a rest bite on the field. During which, a beautiful rendition of "Danny Wilson's Red and White Army" echoed alternatively from the Town End and Don Rogers Stand. However, the break appeared to sap some of the momentum Swindon had built and they found themselves on the back foot of a rare Southampton attack. Lucas had to stretch to deny a shot from Morgan Schneiderlin and he did well to palm away a 30 yard free kick from Rickie Lambert.

The Southampton Supporters were chanting Saganowski's name and Pardew heeded their words bringing him on in the 81st minute, but not having a massive effect on the game. Rickie Lambert fired a 25 yard free kick over the bar - cue more jeering for the ex-Bristol Rovers striker. As time slipped away for the Saints, some time-wasting tactics, rightly or wrongly, were employed by Swindon. Lescinel Jean-Francois picked up a yellow card for a hint of lethargy to take a throw in after the 4th Official had indicated 5 mins of added time. Shortly after, Anthony McNamee left the field from the opposite end of the pitch, basking in ovation from the home fans and was replaced by teenager Lloyd Macklin. Then, loanee Tope Obadeyi received the same treatment as he made way for another product of the youth setup; Callum Kennedy - much to the annoyance of Pardew, his players and supporters. Macklin used his pace to hound and torment the rocky Southampton backline aiding in the run-down of the clock as the nervous last few minutes set in.

But Wilson's men had done enough and the final whistle indicated the first league win of the season to cap a brilliant performance. I learned later that night that 7 minutes added time had actually been played tonight making our 2nd clean sheet of the season that much sweeter as Swindon appear to have fully put last season's woes behind them. Perhaps the foundations have been laid to make the County Ground a fortress this season.

Bore draw dazes MK Dons - yet another injury headache

If anybody thought that Saturday would see a repeat performance of the 5-goal thriller at Stadium:MK on Tuesday night, they were sadly inaccurate, as what turned out to be a drab goal-less draw was marred by a head-crunching collision.

The Dons made their way to The Robins nest off the back off a 4-1 hammering reverse fixture in the Carling Cup 1st Round. Swindon guaranteed a tie against Premiership new-boys Wolves in the next round thanks to a 40 yard wonder goal and some questionable defending and goalkeeping. Paul Ince's men were looking to regain some pride with their trip south to Wiltshire. With a few players back from the treatment table, even Town manager Danny Wilson admitted the tie would be a different contest than the mid-week rout.

An optimistic MK Dons following had made the journey south adding to a rather disappointing 6,600 strong attendance for the County Ground's first meeting of the new season. As 3 o'clock approached even the sun had broken through the clouds to watch the outcome of the clash at SN1.

For half an hour there was little to cheer about, as a whistle happy referee kept a close hold on the game, reducing the possibility of the two teams mounting real chances. Just after the half-hour mark Mr. Ward disciplined MK Don Luke Howell for repeat offence of "unsporting behaviour"; proving to be the catalyst for the first real chance of the game. The free-kick lead to a flurry of corner kicks for Swindon, and on the third attempt the valiant right boot that had given Town the lead just days before executed an inch-perfect delivery to the head of 18 year old giant Sean Morrison. The 6ft4in centre back met the cross perfectly to direct the ball in the bottom left corner only to be denied spectacularly by Willy Gueret who had appeared to have put his bumbling mid-week performance well and truly behind him.

6 minutes later Luke Chadwick was released past Town's Lescinel Jean-Francois down the right-flank. The Town defence struggled to keep up with play and the Man Utd. youngster whipped the ball across goal into the path of waiting American Jemal Johnson. Johnson took perhaps too much time and just managed to squeeze a shot away past the advance of Kevin Amankwaah. Lucas, in between the sticks for Swindon, should have gathered the powerless shot easily. However, the ball squirmed loose from his grasp but he did well to react quickly and keep dexterous Jermaine Easter from scoring. Shades of last year's goalkeeper error-prone season for the Swindon followers.

The event that followed had player and supported alike in silence. A sliced clearance from the Dons saw the ball fly a few feet in the air looking to land nicely for Michael Timlin to mount a quick Town attack. In an attempt to clear up; both Mathias Doumbe and captain Dean Lewington leapt for the ball above Timlin. Heads clashed and both led motionless. Ward immediately halted play and both team physios attended a victim each knowing that the outcome of the clash was dangerous at best. The game was halted for more than 11 minutes as both players received lengthy treatment . Doumbe was eventually helped off the pitch and later given 15 stitches to a lacerated wound on his head however Lewington's state remained a massive concern as he still lay motionless. The decision was made to take the skipper to hospital on a spinal board where Lewington was diagnosed as having a mild concussion and received 12 stitches in a head wound.

Following the break, MK Dons took to the pitch with renewed vigour and looked the more likely of the two sides to steal all 3 points. 2 mins into the 2nd half Jemal Johnson whipped in a curling free kick. Luke Howell had managed to get in front of Lescinel to get a header away but Lucas saved emphatically; managing to get down to the meet the bounce of the powerful header and this time holding on.

With very little vision and creativity being offered by either side, it became increasingly likely that a moment of magic or mayhem would decide the outcome. Swindon introduced new loanee Tope Obadeyi from Bolton to the game along with pacey Alan O'Brien. Obadeyi had signed just 24 hours previous to his debut appearance and immediately looked dangerous. The two linked up following a long ball forward from Sean Morrison. O'Brien flicked the switch and used his amazing pace to get in behind the defence, playing a first-time ball into the box where Obedeyi met with a header. Gueret was untroubled as the ball glanced over the bar.

Shortly after, Lescinel Jean-Francois' cross was only half cleared by Dons' defender Darren Powell and Jon-Paul McGovern met the clearance with a powerful half-volley destined for the top corner. Willy Gueret could only turn and watch as the ball was miraculously headed off the line by ex-Town defender Sol Davis to deny McGovern a second screamer in as many games against MK Dons, which surely would have sent the home fans into rapture.

Both defences had shut up shop from the word go and neither side was able to break the deadlock. The final chance of the afternoon came as Jemal Johnson fired a left footed shot at goal. David Lucas who has managed to cement the first team place so far this season got down well and deflected the ball clear for captain Gordon Greer to finish the cleanup operation.

The outcome of a monotonous afternoon at the County Ground was (literally) another injury headache for MK Dons' Paul Ince and a share of the spoils. A fair result perhaps as chances were limited throughout the game with both sides looked somewhat lacklustre in attack. Dons' fans will definitely be heading home the happier of the two sets despite the blow of losing Dean Lewington once again indefinitely.

Que Sera! Town destroy Dons to break 5 Year Carling Cup Curse

There was surprise optimism amongst the faithful following the sinking of the Swindon ship at the weekend. The sun had finally broken through setting up for a perfect evening of football. And perfect wasn't so far from the truth as it was the West Country buccaneers who would take all of the spoils after 90 minutes.

With the sweet taste of amber nectar still filling my mouth, we bore down on stadium:mk. Far from vast in numbers following our dismal 5-0 defeat, it would take a lot to make ourselves heard tonight, especially if things weren't to go our way. Amidst chants of "they're here, they're there, they're fucking everywhere; empty seats, empty seats!" the game got underway. An army with seemingly renewed vigour were leading by example; amazing what 72 hours can do. With wave upon wave of red shirted attacks raining down for 41 minutes, a sharp eye from Mr. Jon-Paul McGovern spotted the Dons' shot stopper Willy Gueret off his line. A cheekily sublime 40-yard lob would be what separates the two sides as the equally buoyant Robins' team and supporter make their way for half-time refreshments.

The gaffer's half-time team talk must have been a simple one; "More of the same lads". And the team heeded the Messiah's words and for another 8 minutes the ball was locked in Swindon's opposition's half. Frustration amongst the few MK followers was now visible. However, against the run of play a rare MK break led by Lewis Gobern caught Swindon on the back foot and with a rush of blood to the head, Jean-Francois Lescinel hacked down Gobern in the area after being turned inside-out. MK Dons had been gifted a penalty and what would lead from it? A 53rd minute lifeline and route back into the game which had looked more and more impossible. The classy Jermaine Easter stepped up and calmly slotted the ball away.

The Robins' season just passed was plagued with leads being relinquished and on too many occasions the boys were accused of not having the bottle to win games. The people needed someone to stand up, grab the team by its metaphorical balls and carry them through to victory. We needed a hero. I will be the first to admit I didn't think our hero would come in the mould of the lanky, part-Ghanaian defender Kevin Amankwaah. 3 minutes after the Dons' equaliser, Amankwaah dug deep finding a burst of energy and his long legs carried him 60 or so yards down the right side of the pitch. A quick look up and a sly pass from right to left found Swindon's lone striker Billy Paynter, who took one touch before unleashing a shot which made its way past Willy Gueret and catapulted Town back into a well deserved lead.
It had been 5 years since Swindon had won a Carling Cup game, but the breaking of this bane was sealed on the 71st minute when the audacious Anthony McNamee charged down the left wing and tried a cheeky chip towards the danger zone between striker and keeper. Gueret made the early decision to enter no man's land to make what should have been a simple claim and catalyst for a Don's counter attack. Due to some twist of fate Gueret fumbled the catch due to what only could have been a misjudgement of flight, thus allowing Paynter to net his second of the night with a simple tap-in.

A jolly rendition of Que Sera emanated from the away section in between jesting chants of "Dodgy Keeper" and "There's only one Willy Gueret". But the only Jesters tonight seemed to be Gueret and his merry band of men. 3 minutes on from the Dons' keeper's previous gaff, 18 year old Lloyd Macklin floated a ball to the far post. The lad had been bruised and beaten for 73 minutes previous by the Dons' defenders so revenge was extra sweet when his teasing ball caused a mix-up between keeper and defence, and David McCracken's feeble header back to Gueret caught the eccentric Frenchman by surprise and the ball squirmed into the back of his net for the 4th time.

The jubilant Swindon faithful erupted into celebration and applauded what had been a gutsy display from youngster Macklin. Calls of "We want 5!" were nearly granted as Timlin looked to test Gueret's gloves for traces of butter, but his powerful shot snuck just wide of the post.

As the final whistle blew and the white shirted Dons evacuated the stadium, the travelling victors hung back for a joint standing ovation between fan, player and manager whilst bidding farewell to the stadium:mk with a joint chorus of "See you on Saturday!". I think even Sir Timothy Lovejoy would agree with me saying that if bouncebackability was in the dictionary, that was an example of it down to a T.