PLAYER RATINGS: Swindon (1) Colchester United (0)

Swindon bounced back from defeat against Stevenage to get a win against Colchester in a match where they dominated proceedings but struggled to pull away from the U’s. Total Sport’s Joe Acklam reviews the player’s performances.

Ratings scale: 10- won the game on their own, 9- unplayable, 8- outstanding, 7- very good, 6- good, 5- solid, 4- disappointing, 3- awful, 2- woeful, 1- frequent major errors

GK: Sol Brynn – 6

A very quiet afternoon for Brynn as Colchester had just one shot on target, but as usual he was there when required. When Colchester did get forward he made big claims from crosses and quickly responded to halt dangerous situations.

RB: Remeao Hutton – 7

I was critical of Hutton after the Newport game for being wasteful with his crossing and Scott Lindsey said it was something they were trying to work on, so it was great to see he was improving. He may not have got an assist but he was more patient and as a result his balls into the box were far more threatening.

CB: Mathieu Baudry – 7

This was a top performance from Baudry. He used his game intelligence and strength to prevent anyone being able to run in behind him. Swindon gave virtually nothing away at the back and Baudry was a big reason for that.

CB: Tom Clayton – 6

This was an overall solid performance from Clayton, but one of very few errors I can remember at the back came when Freddie Sears got in behind him too easily and it forced Brynn to close down quickly and stop it becoming something.

LB: Frazer Blake-Tracy – 7

Blake-Tracy’s role seemed to have changed to playing in a more advanced position and he caused trouble for Colchester. He was able to go around the outside and create problems and also come inside and play clever passes and possibly should have had an assist for Luke Jephcott.

CM: Ben Gladwin – 7

Another top performance from Gladwin. Without Louis Reed in the team he took over responsibility for setting the tempo and switching the point of attack. He was calm and assured on the ball and frequently played great balls to release Hutton into space.

CM: Saidou Khan – 6

Khan is quickly developing the first signature County Ground turn since the fabled “Kasim spin”. His ability to turn at a two degree angle often proves useful to get Town out of trouble, but I am still not convinced of him as the pivot, I see him as more effective higher up. His short passing is strong but he looks averse to playing longer passes and he had one major lapse in concentration which could have been more costly against a better side.

CM: Ronan Darcy – 5

This was a decent performance from Darcy, but I think he needs to calm down a bit. His shooting against Newport was a useful tool but since he has had five shots without so much as hitting the target. He needs to pick his moments to shoot and to pass more carefully.

RW: Jacob Wakeling – 4

I have previously been unsure about Wakeling as a winger, well now I am, he is not one. Playing out there is impacting upon his confidence and his touch seemed to desert his at times because of it. Even though he plays quite narrow, he is just too far away to get into the areas which made his early performances so strong.

ST: Luke Jephcott – 5

He had two half chances against Colchester and took neither, which is disappointing as he did well to get into those positions. His role in the goal was fantastic, if he can drop off and link play more often then it will help Swindon to find space as you could see from the one time he did it.

LW: Jonny Williams – 7

Swindon had two real moments of quality and both of them were from the boot of the Welsh Wizard. His pass to play in Jephcott was sublime and his cross to Tyrese Shade was so good that the substitute didn’t even have to kick it in himself.

Subs:

Tyrese “O Fenomeno” Shade – 6

He is making a real habit of scoring goals he didn’t know much about and his frontflip celebration is a joy to behold for those type of scrappy goals. There were moments when he did what he does best, dropping into space and going passed players, but not often enough for him to be rated higher.

Ricky Aguiar – 6

This was a big step for Aguiar. He didn’t have a big moment but he came on and looked like he belonged for the first time since Walsall. He completed as many passes in thirty minutes as Darcy did in an hour, showing that he was just more involved than he often is.

Ellis Iandolo – N/A

Ciaran Brennan – N/A

Morgan Roberts – N/A