WHAT WE LEARNED: Salford City (1) Swindon (2)

Swindon Town ended their run of four games without a win as they came from behind to beat Salford City at the Peninsular Stadium. Total Sport’s Joe Acklam looks at what lessons can be learned from the match.

Here are the lessons that can be learned from Jody Morris’ first win in charge.

1. Jacob Wakeling looks rejuvenated under Morris.

I said that early on against Newport that Wakeling looked like he might be suited to playing in a Morris system and this seems to being borne out. After exciting off the bench at Sutton United on Tuesday, Wakeling was given the start against Salford. Playing alongside Austin in a 352 plays to his strengths as without the ball he is being asked to hunt down the ball and with it he pushes in behind. He looked happier in a front two and the pressing style utilises his best quality, his energy. Ending his three-month goal drought was a fitting reward for the endeavour he showed in his performance.

2. Maintaining tempo was a big part of the game plan.

Something I noticed watching the game back Sunday morning was that there was a noticeable difference in the two side’s approach to throw-ins and dead balls. Salford were happy to slow the game down whenever possible until they had to go for it in the final 15 minutes. Whereas Swindon almost always took less than ten seconds to get the ball back in play. They didn’t want to let Salford rest and would always get the ball back in play as quickly as possible to try and catch the home team off guard and tire them out.

3. Sol Brynn was taking no chances.

Whilst Swindon were looking to build from the back and maintain possession as much as possible until the frantic end to proceedings, Brynn was not concerned by this. The goalkeeper very rarely played short passes and would more regularly play longer to go over the Salford press. This is clearly shown in the stats as his passing accuracy was at 41% compared to its normal 66%, and he attempted 23 long balls compared to 29 short passes. Brynn has been very good with his feet this season, but it was clear he was being asked to play longer whenever the ball came back to him.

4. Swindon are still not good enough in possession.

This is a tough one due to the Ammies’ decision to ground share with a farmer who is about to plant his crops, so the pitch was in a state and so players will naturally want to take fewer risks. However, Swindon were able to hold possession well for long stretches in the first half and early in the second. The problem was that very little came from these spells, as the equaliser is probably the only chance created through possession in the whole game. The second goal comes through transition and Swindon created a few other chances through unsettling Salford without the ball. They have the excuse of not wanting to take as many risks on that pitch, but as Town look to progress they will need to create more from their time in possession.

5. There was a clear problem with tackling.

Swindon actually did a good job pressing Salford and frequently managed to force them to concede possession by rushing long balls. The issue came when someone looked to dribble, and this often resulted in them being able to go beyond several white shirts. It was very rare that Swindon managed to stop someone once they looked to run with the ball. This came through a mixture of being too aggressive and not aggressive enough in pursuing the opposing player and a more clinical team than Salford would have taken more of an advantage from this.