PLAYER RATINGS: Swindon Town (1) v (2) Exeter City

SWINDON TOWN squandered a one-goal lead as Exeter City scored twice in the last ten minutes to leapfrog Swindon into the League Two playoff positions. Total Sport Swindon's Ryan Walker gives his Robins player ratings below.

Manager Rating: Ben Garner (6.5)

Garner made a handful of changes from the midweek draw against Crawley with Dion Conroy out through injury and Ellis Iandolo and Ryan East both relegated to the bench. For the majority of the game, Garner seemed to have got Swindon’s tactics correct with the Robins the better of the two attacks and defensively sound. 

However, the decision to bring on Iandolo in midfield when Town was looking to hold out has to be questioned when the likes of Ryan East and defender Mathieu Baudry remained on the bench.

GK: J Wollacott (7)

Looked sharp with the ball at his feet and produced a few decent saves when Exeter got shots away on goal. Was helpless to stop Jevani Brown’s goal and was wrong-footed by a deflection that led to Exeter taking the lead.

RWB: R Hunt (C) (7)

Pushed forward well and made some good late runs to Exeter’s back-post, particularly in the first half when a touch on Tomlinson’s cross would have led to Hunt scoring. Was at times caught out of possession when Exeter broke on the counter-attack but all-round produced a solid showing.

CB: J O’Brien (7)

Made some big tackles to relieve pressure when Exeter attacked and impressed in carrying the ball out from defence and up through midfield. Won the majority of his aerial duals but critics could question the speed in which he attempted to close down Jevani Brown for his goal.

CB: B Cooper (6)

Produced another good showing at the heart of defence and controlled the backline well in the absence of club captain Dion Conroy. However, despite his impressive composure on the ball, Cooper got turned far too easily by Sam Nombe in the build-up to the Grecians opening goal with Nombe’s pass proving to be the eventual assist.

CB: A Odimayo (6)

Back in the starting side, Odimayo endured a relatively quiet afternoon with the majority of Exeter’s attacks often involving Town’s two other defenders. His positional play was positive however the 22-year-old still appears uncomfortable in possession when Swindon look to play around the press.

LWB: J Tomlinson (9)

The last time I have seen as good a debut at full-back for Swindon was Dominic Thompson against Ipswich last season, with Tomlinson easily Swindon’s best player this afternoon. The defender is strong on both feet and showcased his qualities with some brilliant crosses, accurate passing, and brilliant finish to put Swindon in front. With performances like that it’s easy to see why Garner was so eager to bring Tomlinson to the club.

CM: B Gladwin (7)

Off the back of rescuing a point for Swindon in midweek, Gladwin did a solid job in the heart of Swindon’s midfield and was often the outlet that got Town out of some sticky situations. Defensively sound throughout and was always looking for the forward ball when in possession. Gladwin has come in for some stick this season but is enjoying some better performances of late.

CM: J Lyden (5.5)

Was aggressive in his attempts to break play up but his speed at running into tackles sometimes made it too easy for Exeter to play around him. Lyden lacked his usual quality on the ball in this match and went off with a dead leg in the second half.

CAM: J Williams (6)

No one is doubting Jonny Williams’ ability but too often he seems to go missing in games and today was one such occasion with him starting brightly but then fading in other parts of the match. His link-up play between midfield and attack was good at times but the ease at which he sometimes goes down is becoming a bit of a bugbear.

ST: J Davison (6)

You can sense how desperate Davison is to get his first goal for Swindon since making the move to SN1 in January, but this eagerness is perhaps at times proving to be his undoing. 

His heavy touch in the opening minutes denied him a one-on-one after being played through by McKirdy, however, he grew into the match with his hold-up play particularly impressive at times. Was substituted in the second half with an achilles injury.

ST: H McKirdy (7)

McKirdy has established himself as a fan favourite at Swindon and rightly so after his tremendous goalscoring form that has seen Swindon become playoff hopefuls this season. However, there were times against Exeter when a pass rather than a shot in the final third would have been the better option. 

That being said, McKirdy assisted Tomlinson for his goal and was unfortunate not to score at the start of the second half after his shot following a dribble forced a good save from Dawson.

SUBSTITUTIONS:

E Iandolo (5)

Replaced Jordan Lyden in midfield and when in attack his quick movement of the ball helped get Swindon into some dangerous positions. However, that being said Iandolo was too easy to play around when Exeter pushed on in search of a comeback.

L Barry (5)

Barry arrives at Swindon with bucketloads of potential but will need time to settle and get minutes under his belt before he can show his best. Against Exeter he was unable to get into the match.