PLAYER RATINGS: Swindon (3) Harrogate Town (0)

Swindon Town came away with a comfortable 3-0 victory against Harrogate Town, thanks to Rushian Hepburn-Murphy and Joe Tomlinson both scoring their first league goals of the season. Total Sport’s Joe Acklam reviews the players individual 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 strong performance from a man who has had a slight dip in form from his lofty standards in recent weeks. The Sulphurites only had three shots on target in the match, but Brynn made them all look like child’s play with convincing catches. He never looked fazed in possession, and it was an overall very solid performance.

RB: Remeao Hutton – 6

Seven assists for the season now from League Two’s best full-back. The only argument for people groaning when Swindon keep possession is when Hutton is in space as he just makes things happen.

CB: Ciaran Brennan – 5

As usual he was reliable rather than outstanding in possession. 94% pass completion shows that he just keeps things ticking and that is often enough for a centre-back. He had a solid first half and due to Swindon’s lack of defenders, he will be sorely missed whilst he is injured.

CB: Tom Clayton – 5

I get the feeling he is still finding his feet since coming back from injury. He is still looking very solid back there, but we did see more from him earlier in the season. My only real criticism is that he needed to show more leadership in the second half when Dylan Kadji was going walkabouts. But he is still a young player, and I am sure he will get there.

LB: Ellis Iandolo – 6

Harrogate’s almost entire lack of an attacking threat meant that Iandolo could display his best qualities and really contribute to the attack. He is heavily involved in the build-up to the first two goals and has actually become quite a big attacking weapon under Jody Morris. He did have one fairly major lapse in concentration to allow Luke Armstrong through on goal, but was thankfully bailed out by Brynn.

CM: George McEachran – 7

Swindon need to sign more players out of their manager’s phone contacts as two years in a row it has paid handsome dividends. McEachran looks a cut above out there with a sublime range of passing and tempo setting abilities. I would be picking up that one-year optional extension rather quickly.

CM: Jake Cain – 6

It is a bit harsh on Cain having to play next to McEachran, but he had a very good afternoon too. He played one phenomenal, defence-splitting pass in the first half which eventually set-up Jacob Wakeling and he generally just used the ball very well. When he is given the time, he looks like a very good midfielder at this level.

RW: Jacob Wakeling – 5

This formation probably suits everyone the best except Wakeling. He can still make things happen and is always a willing runner, I just don’t think it was a coincidence he got his goal when playing in a front two.

CAM: Jonny Williams – 5

A solid return from concussion, but Williams has a lot more in his locker than this. His movement was good and he popped up all over the field, but other than one nice pass to Wakeling, which ultimately came to nothing, he did not create a great deal.

LW: Rushian Hepburn-Murphy – 7

It was lovely to see him get those two goals as he has been trying very hard since returning from injury, and his luck was clearly in with two scrappy finishes. I compared him to Darwin Nunez during the live blog as a lot of what he does is quite hit-and-miss, but if the things he does right turn into goals like this then no one will be complaining.

ST: Charlie Austin – 4

He just looked off it. He was moving into wide areas a lot and didn't really helping the attack when he did so. When he was in the middle his touch let him down. He had a few nice pieces of hold up play, but I think it is everyone’s best interests if he makes himself an option in the middle as much as possible.

Subs:

Dylan Kadji – 4

The best argument for getting a defender in sharpish was Kadji looking like a fish out of water at the back. He was dragged out of position quite easily and played the role like a midfielder as he committed too quickly when there was no one behind him. This is a critique on the idea of him playing in defence as much as anything, as he just didn’t look comfortable. I like him in midfield, but not at the back.

Joe Tomlinson – 7

What more can you ask for from the man rivalling Paul Mullin as the best at debuts in Swindon’s recent history? Tomlinson’s enthusiasm and will to make things happen in the final third could prove vital if Town are to make a run at the play-offs as they will have both full-backs contributing heavily to goals.

Ronan Darcy – n/a

Tyrese Shade – n/a

Tomi Adeloye – n/a