MATCH PREVIEW: Swindon Town v Barrow

Swindon Town’s quest to reach the League Two play-offs against all odds reaches the last two games of the season, as Phil Brown’s Barrow come to the County Ground hoping to end the Robin’s newfound swagger. Total Sport Swindon’s Joe Acklam previews the encounter.

Having seemed out of the play-off race multiple times over the course of the last few weeks, wins over Hartlepool and Forest Green have resuscitated Town’s season, moving them up to eighth and two points below the dotted line.

After a swashbuckling victory in the north east, Swindon showed grit and determination to get past top of the table Forest Green on Tuesday and the emotion was clear amongst the player’s as they celebrated a hard-fought victory, despite Ellis Iandolo’s sending off.

Barrow, by contrast, have finished their work for the season after confirming survival last week when Oldham became the first Premier League side to drop out of the EFL.

In a very Swindon heavy switch, Brown replaced Mark Cooper in late March as the Bluebirds feared the drop and it has worked as the man who was relegated with Southend last season managed to prevent a similar fate befalling the Cumbrians.

Despite their lowly league position, Swindon must beware Barrow as many play-offs ships have hit the rocks playing Brown’s side, taking points from Forest Green, Sutton, and Salford in their past four games.

Swindon will be looking to avenge what happened to them in the away fixture back in December as a Dion Conroy red card and a 2-0 loss made the near ten-hour round trip far from worth it, a game which saw former Swindon loanee Ollie Banks score from the spot.

To find the last time these two played each other before this season would take you on a journey all the way back to 5th May 1969, where 21,289 fans at the County Ground witnessed Don Rogers and John Smith find the net for Swindon in a 2-0 win.

Moving back to the present day, Iandolo will be unavailable due to his two bookings against Forest Green, and the other selection headache will be between the goalkeepers as Jojo Wollacott’s fitness could be key to whether Lewis Ward plays a third successive match.

For Barrow, Josh Kay is returning from a one-match suspension of his own, but they will be waiting on the fitness of Aaron Amadi-Holloway, who missed the trip to Exeter due to an injury.