The Paynter and Austin tally increases

Just a quick blog update before I go for christmas lunch. As you should know, Town hosted Brighton at a snowy County Ground on Saturday - seeing the return of stopper Peter Brezovan and ex-assistant manager Gus Poyet.

As we crossed the Magic Roundabout you could faintly hear out of tune Christmas carols being blasted from the County Ground tannoy system. Apparently, this was the work of one Reverend Paul Rush and his acoustic guitar. Definitely not Swindon's Got Talent!

And though the Rev might have been off-tune, the opposite could be said about the partnership between strikers Billy Paynter and Charlie Austin as they both bagged a goal each to send Brighton back to the coast with nothing to show for.

But the game wasn't without controversy, and in good ol' Swindon fashion, the reds didn't make it easy for ourselves.

Peter Brezovan's first return to the County Ground after an apparent breakdown between himself and Wilson was a start for him to remember as he pulled off a remarkable save to deny a rare long range effort from Jonathan Douglas. This save gets better and better every time I see it! He also did well to keep out a close-range effort from Charlie Austin as Swindon were knocking at the door to break the deadlock early on in the first half.

The door was answered after about half an hour had been played. Jean-Francois Lescinel played a lofted ball towards Billy Paynter who fell under a challenge from Brighton's Jim McNulty and referee Mr. Moss quickly pointed to the spot, much to the protests of the Seagull's. Paynter stepped up and coolly converted the spot kick, sending old teammate Peter Brezovan the wrong way to give Town a deserved lead. Paynter later said that there was no doubt about the penalty appeal:

“My goal was definitely a penalty - I’ve gone up and he’s pushed me in the back, so there was no doubt about it. I got up, stuck it away and it’s set us on the right track. "

It didn't take long for Brighton to claw their way back into the game however. On 38 minutes Nicky Forster met am Elliott Bennett cross with his head, making no mistake from close range. His celebration less than savoury in the eyes of the Town End as Forster was bombarded with coffee and burgers for celebrating in front of them. Surprisingly, Forster received only a talking to from the referee, when on any other occasion he probably would have received a yellow card.

Swindon could have retaken the lead just before half-time, as Alan Sheehan crashed a superb free-kick against the underside of the bar with Brezovan beaten. That's two bars in two free-kicks for Sheehan so far in his short loan spell at the County Ground.

Town eventually did reclaim their one goal advantage early in the second half. Jon-Paul McGovern's perfect cross was met by a close-range header from Charlie Austin in an almost carbon copy of Forster's earlier goal. Austin took his tally to 5 goals and the Town End were happier to have the 20 year old celebrate in front of them.

As Swindon attempted to play time away, defending became a bit slap-dash and some costly errors nearly gifted Brighton a point. A slip from Gordon Greer nearly gifted Glenn Murray a goal if it wasn't for the superb goalkeeping from David Lucas. And a lapse in concentration from Lescinel Jean-Francois should have seen Liam Dickinson equalise for the seagulls, but he sent his shot surprisingly wide towards the death of the game.

And to top the game off, a Brighton had a very late penalty appeal turned down by referee Jonathan Moss as Nicky Forster went down after a tackle from Alan Sheehan, and both manager's agreed that perhaps Moss made the wrong decision here.

Gus Poyet, less than happy with Moss' performance struggled to control his temper in a post-match interview:

“I think it was a penalty – pressure, last minute, injury-time? Definitely,” said Poyet.

“If that happens at 0-0 in the middle of the game then you give it, but when it’s at the end sometimes you don’t.

“If it’s a penalty, it’s a penalty. It doesn’t matter how much you dive, how much you appeal – it’s a penalty and he was in the right position to see it. "

And Wilson admitted that on another day it may not have been 3 points to Swindon if that penalty was given:

“You’ve seen them given. Whether it was intentional or not doesn’t matter, if he goes down he goes down.

“I think Nicky knew exactly what he was doing and at that late stage in the game you ask the referee a question. Fortunately for us he hasn’t given them the answer they wanted.”

So with performances still a way from being perfect at the County Ground, Town managed to pick up another extremely valuable 3 points, with a heavy and tough Christmas period fast approaching. We sit in 6th place, the last playoff spot, with two games in hand over a handful of the teams above us. But Swindon's form is something for Robins fans to smile about over Christmas - 34 points from 20 games is the kind of form that will secure you a playoff place come spring-time, and with the state of the team upon Wilson's inheritance, I don't think anybody can grumble at that. Tidy up some of the performances and everything else will fall in to place.

See you at The Valley on Boxing Day!