And after being written off at the start of the season by television, newspaper and magazine pundits alike, match reports this morning would suggest the "experts" have changed their tune - calling ourselves and the U's fellow promotion contenders as a point each at the County Ground sees Swindon and Colchester occupy 5th and 6th place respectively.
The visit of Colchester would see the coming of Aidy Boothroyd to the County Ground for his first game in charge of the U's. Looking on forums and websites there seems to be quite a buzz amongst fans with the appointment of such a manager, who of course was linked with our very own hot seat upon the removal of Maurice Malpas.
The sun shone over the providence of Swindonia on Saturday morning as we took up our usual pre-match positions at the bar, this time in The Merlin for a bit of footballing banter. Manager Wilson had built up this contest in the media, naming it as "the biggest game of the season so far" and stating "This will be a real yardstick for me of how we will compete over the rest of the season". Consequently, you can imagine the supporters were up for today. As we found our familiar seats and awaited 3:00pm to be shown on the famous Rolex timekeeper, the pre-match festivities were carried out as today was the first of three "Military Days" to help raise money for the Help for Heroes charity, and military personnel could attend the game at the cost of only £10.00 to show our support to the boys. As part of the day, the match ball was delivered to the pitch in a tank!
Wilson had rung the changes for today; as favourites Billy Paynter and Anthony McNamee were dropped to the bench to allow the attempt at a new formation - 4-3-3, seeing the lads spearheaded by the attacking force of Ben Hutchinson, Temitope Obadeyi and Alex Revell who made his debut in the famous red jersey. Though the official formation was 4-3-3, it became clear soon after the whistle that this wasn't quite the case as Temitope Obadeyi and Ben Hutchinson sat wide to give more of a feel of 4-5-1, with Alex Revell acting as a lone-striker for most of the game.The other shock of the day was to see 2nd 'keeper Phil Smith between the sticks, as it was reported number 1 David Lucas would sit out today after sustaining a knee injury in the pre-match warm-up. This also meant that young Polish stopper Jakub Jesionkowski would come the closest he's been to a first string game with a place in the 7 on the bench.
The travelling support was poor, keeping the official attendance down to 6,621, but it was the Essex boys who had more to shout about early on. 17 mins into the game a dangerous looking cross tempted Phil Smith off his line. As Smith floundered at the ball it fell to the feet of 24 year old Ashley Vincent who unleasheed a goal-bound shot. However, Smith recovered well and the former Crawley Town man made a nice diving parry to deflect the ball clear and keep the scores level.
5 minutes later however Smith couldn't deny the same man Ashley Vincent. A long ball forward from Colchester stopper Ben Williams wasn't met by a red-shirt before the bounce. Swindon's complete lack of defending allowed both Kevin Lisbie and Clive Platt to get a flick on to release Vincent in Smith's area. Scott Cuthbert tried in vain to block Vincent's crashing drive but a deflection saw the ball fly past the helpless Phil Smith. Unfortunately for Vincent, his goal would be the last touch of the game for him as the medics stretechered him off thanks to a late challenge from Kevin Amankwaah in the process of the ball hitting the back of the net. Watching back the replays it would appear that if Vincent hadn't found the net it surely would have been a penalty, though Amankwaah luckily got away without punishment.
Swindon fought back quickly with 10 minutes of solid pressure. Ben Hutchinson saw a shot fly over the bar after cleverly turning his marker. Town fans were also treated to more of Danny Wilson's calm passing game that he's been trying to introduce at the County Ground to rid of the scruffy long-ball we have seen for many a year. Kevin Amankwaah picked up the ball in his own area and played a lovely pass to Celtic-loanee Ben Hutchinson. Hutchinson carried the ball towards the halfway line before spotting the run of Amankwaah, releasing him on the right-wing. Amankwaah played in a dangerous low ball into Williams' area, as debutant Alex Revell scuffed his attempt it fell to on-form Jon-Paul McGovern who sees his thunderous drive saved well by Ben Williams and deflected clear.
And finally, the masses of pressure being applied by the home side paid dividends on the strike of half-time. Tt took all of 45 minutes to see Swindon score but it was well worth the wait. A Colchester corner was easily dealt with by the Town defence and what ensued was a perfect example of counter-attacking football. Ben Hutchinson picked up the ball and strode foward at least 60 yards unchallenged as the Colchester back-line scurried to reform their shape. With Tope Obadeyi ahead of him he played a perfectly timed ball to an onside Obadeyi. Tope had all the time in the world, and used it as he waited for 'keeper Ben Williams to make his move before firing home to cap a lovely passage of play from Ben Hutchinson. And with the scores level, shortly after, the referee's whistle signaled half-time. Bow-time hard earned.
The 2nd half started as a cagey affair, as neither team wanted to be caught up-field in the same fashion as the equalising goal. It took around 10 minutes for the first real chance to eventuate. Alex Revell, who had been playing against Swindon two weeks earlier, had already shown us his ability to win headers and make a real nuisance of himself to opposing defenders. Next he put on display his shooting ability as he picked up the ball around 40 yards from goal following some neat Swindon passing. He spotted his opportunity, of which nobody else in ground had seen, and out of nowhere hits an almighty strike, surprising and beating William's, only to be kept out by the bar.Colchester's chances were few and far between, the most notable coming as well-travelled Kevin Lisbie was released. However, the 30 year old's lack of pace was beaten by Phil Smith who rushed towards the oncoming striker to clutch the ball at his feet.
Intricate winger Anthony McNamee was soon brought into the fray by manager Danny Wilson to replace Ben Hutchinson. And he made an immediate effect on the game, evidently battling for a starting berth next week at Walsall. He knocked a lovely through ball to centre-half Simon Ferry who beat the offside trap. As the Colchester back line scrambled to recover, he takes on 2 defenders before hitting a left-footed curling effort which flew just wide of the post.
A half-chance came from a Jon-Paul McGovern corner. McGovern, who has stepped up his game this season to ensure a constant place in the starting 11 so far, whipped in the corner towards striker substitute Billy Paynter who met the cross around 12 yards out with a volley. Paynter struggled to get any power behind the ball and failed to really test Williams.
As time ticked on it became clear that both sides were content with a draw, as Colchester were extremely unwilling to gamble their 1 point in an attempt to steal all 3. Swindon however gave it one more go on 78 minutes. McNamee and Amankwaah linked up well on the right-wing, allowing Amankwaah to put a low ball across the Colchester goal. Billy Paynter met it at the near post with his head but defender John White happened to find himself in the way of Paynter's goal-bound header and unknowingly deflected it wide for a corner, which Swindon failed to force the issue with.
The final-whistle drew to a close an unthrilling encounter, but a hard-earned point means Swindon are now unbeaten in 6 league games following the opening day thrashing from Gillingham. There is a real buzz amongst the County Ground underbelly and fans know that if Wilson can keep hold of the loan signings who now appear to be making an impact on the team, and keep the regulars performing at this level, we will be there or thereabouts come the end of the season. Keep up the good work Danny! Oh and the military day helped raise £1,600 for the Help for Heroes charity.
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