MATCH REPORT: Swindon (1) Walsall (2)

Swindon Town suffered late heartbreak as a Manny Monthe goal in stoppage time meant it is just one win in six for Scott Lindsey. Total Sport’s Joe Acklam reports on the defeat.

The first half took a while to get going, but burst into life late on as Ellis Iandolo got Swindon into the lead at the second time of asking, before Tom Knowles equalised with a deflected shot.

Swindon huffed and puffed after the break and seemed to have momentum, but continuously picked the wrong option in the final third and couldn’t find a winner, before Monthe snatched it at the death.

Despite defeat Town only drop below Carlisle United in the table down to fifth position, with three out of the four play-off sides failing to secure all three points.

Scott Lindsey kept with the same line-up which had taken all three points from Barrow nine days ago; Ben Gladwin and Saidou Khan both returned from injury to come onto the bench.

Swindon started positively, but failed to make Owen Evans work and eventually Walsall had the first shot in anger when a free-kick deflected off the chest of Louis Reed and straight to Danny Johnson, but he fired well over the top.

The game was meandering along before Ronan Darcy broke down the right after 33 minutes and had two in the middle to aim for, he found Iandolo and his cannoned shot was parried back to him, where he stretched to get the rebound and the ball rolled slowly over the line.

Walsall levelled on the stroke of half-time when a half-cleared corner went back to Knowles, he worked space and curled it into the far corner of the net courtesy of a deflection off Remeao Hutton.

In first-half stoppage time Swindon almost struck back as Louis Reed floated in a corner and Frazer Blake-Tracy got above his defender and forced Evans to make a smart stop to deny him.

A long passing move that took Town from back to front ended in a crisp one-two between Marcel Lavinier and Williams on the edge of the box, but the latter’s effort was blocked.

Swindon upped the tempo and quickly had two openings as first Lavinier got beyond his marker, but his ball across was deflected away and then Rushian Hepburn-Murphy got in behind only for his effort to be blocked.

The second half was a flurry of half chances and nearly moments, and after 66 minutes Gladwin drove through midfield, Hepburn-Murphy turned on the burners and ran in behind, but the pass came too early and went through to Evans.

Hepburn-Murphy again caused trouble as he chased down an overhit cross, came back inside and had a shot blocked, before winning it back again and swapping passes with Williams and his second effort was also deflected. Every Swindon shot seemed to be finding a Walsall players in its path.

After 86 minutes Douglas James-Taylor outran Angus MacDonald and laid the ball back to Conor Wilkinson, but his shot went narrowly wide of the far post.

In second half stoppage time, a Walsall corner was not dealt with by Swindon and fell to Monthe in front of Brynn and he prodded it past the ‘keeper.