Town crash as unbeaten streak comes to an abrupt end

Prior to the visit of Chris Turner's Hartlepool United to the County Ground, Town had suffered only one defeat in the league all season, that being the 5-1 thrashing away at Gillingham on the season's opening day. Since then we've been witness to a host of mature and solid performances, so today's performance against Wilson's former employers came as a shock to the system, but perhaps is just what the doctor ordered, ahead of a couple of games against top opposition in Norwich and Leeds.

I was surprisingly sober for the trip to the County Ground, one which we made a little earlier than normal in an attempt to catch Aston Villa's impressive performance as they entertained Chelsea. The night previous I had spent fleecing a few mates playing Poker. Cheers ;-)

In all honesty, it was quite a drab 90 minute display, and by far the worst performance this season bar the Gillingham hammering. The tone of the match was set early on, as Swindon's defensive frailties were exposed all to easily. Kevin Amankwaah, rarely a weak link, wouldn't have made it one round with Anne Robinson, as he Adam Boyd all the time on the edge of the box to fabricate the perfect cross. And when striker James Brown is on the receiving end, you are usually forced to pay, as Town were when Brown headed passed a stranded David Lucas to give Hartlepool the lead 90 seconds into the game.

Town fans, players and manager alike seemed shell shocked, and it was a blow that Swindon would never really recover from. Over the next 7 minutes The Robins tried to put the early sucker punch behind them, with Tope Obadeyi looking lively after returning from a hamstring injury. His antics on the left wing caused problems, and he appeared to have come into the game with a point to prove, but tried to hard as he found himself in areas where he was beaten by the angle, and would lose possession travelling to far when a short pass would have done the trick. He and Ben Hutchinson gave keeper Scott Flinders something to think about, but struggled to really test him with weak and easy shots.

On the 15 minute mark the Town defence was shown up again as Denis Behan's cross evaded every red shirt in the box and fell to James Brown. His fierce shot flew just wide of the goal, a huge let off for Town as Callum Kennedy looked evidently out of sorts against the opposition.

10 mins later the home fans were awakened as Jon-Paul McGovern fell victim to a lunge tackle from Richie Jones. Chants of "OFF, OFF" rang out around the County Ground, but the home fans desperate attempt to level the Town's off performance with Jones' dismissal weren't granted as he picked up the first yellow card of the game.

Then we saw a small flicker of fight in the underbelly of Town. Anthony McNamee collected Jon-Paul McGovern's superb lofted pass on the wide right, cut inside onto his preferred left foot and curled and effort just wide of Flinders' goal, Swindon's first real chance of the game.

The Referee was then called upon to reach into his pocket once more, as another rare Town attack was halted by a blatant bodycheck from Gary Liddle, bagging him a yellow card to his name. Kennedy stepped up but his free-kick reflected the rest of his performance as it flew over the bar.

A minute later lightning struck twice for Town, as former Robin Andy Monkhouse secured his second goal in as many seasons against his former employers. A neat Pools break caught Callum Kennedy out once more as Adam Boyd dinked the ball forward for the chasing James Brown. Brown's first time ball across the box was met by the incoming Monkhouse who fired low passed Kevin Amankwaah and David Lucas to double the scoreline.Monkhouse then rubbed salt in the wounds of the downed Swindon fans, and for the second time in as many games I was outraged in the stands, as Monkhouse headed straight for the Don Rogers' Stand, turned his back and gestured towards his name before punching the air. The vocal distaste from the County Ground forced the referee to issue his third yellow card to Monkhouse for unsportsman-like behaviour, an incident Monkhouse later described as "a bit of banter". I would describe banter as playful conversation or teasing amongst mates, and I think perhaps Monkhouse was the only on who saw this as any of the above terms.

The half time whistle drew a close to a poor first half performance much to the relief of the bewildered home fans. Wilson had evidently been watching the same game as us, and replaced Callum Kennedy with Lescinel Jean-Francois, who had had a torrid time dealing with the almost constant attacking prowess Hartlepool had brought to the table.

The 2nd half started as a quiet affair, with little of note happening until Lee Peacock came on for Alex Revell to make his first league start of the campaign following his long spell on the sidelines.

And the two changes appeared to have made a difference as Swindon began to pile on some much needed pressure if anything was to be salvaged from this game. After a spell of health possession, Tope Obadeyi found himself with an excellent opportunity to begin the Town comeback. A teasing cross was sent towards the far post from Jon-Paul McGovern's right boot, but Obadeyi could do little more than head the ball into the goalkeeper's hands, as Swindon's impotency in front of goal continued.

As patience wore thin within the 4 sides of the County Ground, Wilson made one last throw of the dice, bringing on fan favourite Billy Paynter in place of Ben Hutchinson. Looking fresh and up for it Billy Paynter chased everything and once again gave 100%, and I think could be looking at getting back into the starting-11 as we continue to struggle for goals.

The next chance fell to the scouser himself as McGovern's free kick was flicked on by Scott Cuthbert. Paynter had time to control the ball in the area and pick his mark, but instead fired his shot straight into Flinders clutches, who would like to play against our attacking line any day of the week.

With the final whistle drawing closer, the pace of the game dropped with it, and Hartlepool were happy to soak up what little pressure we put on their backline. In front of goal Town continued to struggle, as Billy Paynter had more chances in the short time he was on, than the rest of the Swindon team put together. But still the goals wouldn't come. On 80 minutes the icing was put on the cake, and the County Ground conceded the outcome of the day. The ball fell to Lee Peacock in the area following a Jon-Paul McGovern corner. And with Flinders on the deck, Peacock unleashed a goal-bound shot, only to see it blocked and deflected off the line by Tope Obadeyi. The rest of the game whittled away and a chorus of boos echoed around the County Ground as the referee brought a close to the game. Swindon had looked lethargic and sluggish today, and if we go Saturday's away trip to Norwich with a similar attitude, we will get well and truly tonked. Wilson certainly has some work to do over the next 7 days as we look to get over the loss of Jonathan Douglas in the middle of the park, and to start scoring some goals to improve on our -3 goal difference and continue to challenge for a top-6 place, which so far looked like a possibility.