MATCH REPORT: Swindon Town 1-0 Wigan Athletic

SWINDON TOWN climbed out of the League One relegation zone with a one-nil victory over Wigan Athletic at the County Ground this evening. Total Sport Swindon’s Ryan Walker gives his match report following the game.

Photo credit: Swindon Town FC

Brett Pitman’s first-half headed goal was the difference between the two relegation contenders as Swindon held on with just ten men after Dion Conroy was shown a red card early in the second-half.

Three Wigan corners within the opening five minutes gave the visitors chances to test Mark Travers from set-pieces, however only one delivery made its way into the box which the Swindon shot-stopper dealt with comfortably. 

Knowing that a win could take them out of the League One relegation zone, both sides attempted to attack at every occasion throughout the opening ten minutes as Brett Pitman caused problems inside the visitors box whilst Dan Gardner used his pace to work his way into the Swindon penalty area before being let down by his final delivery. 

After staving off half-chances during the early exchanges, Swindon eventually started to establish a foothold in the game with their midfield trio of Jack Payne, Jordan Lyden, and Matty Palmer disrupting possession. 

Creative interlinking passing combined with Wigan’s inability to make simple passes created openings for Swindon’s forwards to operate in as Jones failed to deal with Palmer’s dipping cross leaving Pitman with an open-goal to head into and give Swindon the lead in the 17th minute.

The goal dented the confidence of a Wigan side who had started the match brightly as the Latics struggled to find any momentum with a series of unforced errors presenting Swindon with a handful of chances to double their tally.

Jack Payne looked set to grab Swindon’s second goal after being found unmarked inside the Wigan box by Thompson before firing a shot on target that required a goal-line clearance from Tom Pearce.

Wigan responded minutes later with a great corner delivery from Pearce finding Lang at the back-post only for Thompson to do brilliantly well and get a final touch to clear his lines. 

Palmer nearly scored direct from a corner just minutes before half-time as his curling set-piece delivery caught Wigan’s keeper unawares as he was left to claw the ball away as it threatened to creep in at his near-post.

Half-time arrived moments later as Swindon left the pitch with their lead intact.

Wigan dominated possession in the early stages of the second-half as Swindon sat deep inside their own half looking to protect their lead. However Wigan looked short of ideas, failing to provide much of a threat as the Robins remained in control.

Swindon utilised the pace of Hope and Smith to play on the counter-attack but couldn’t muster any shots-on-target as the Latics defended well to keep balls out of their box. 

Payne found himself with a chance to shoot from close-range after Pitman played the midfielder into space but the eventual shot took too long as Pearce threw his body in front of the ball.

John Sheridan has often criticised Swindon for being their own worst enemy this season, a statement that was proved true midway through the second-half as Captain Dion Conroy was shown a red card after catching Will Keane on the edge of the Swindon box as he stretched to recover a loose ball. 

Sheridan opted to introduce defensive reinforcements bringing on Rob Hunt to replace Tyler Smith, whilst Wigan attempted to use their man advantage to force an equaliser. 

As expected, Wigan pushed men forward as the relegation contenders tried to get back into the game but never looked like causing trouble as their attacking play was predictable and poorly executed.

Operating with ten men for much of the second-half, Swindon arguably looked the better team both strong in defence and positive in attack.

Wigan were presented with numerous set-piece opportunities in the closing minutes of the match but couldn’t take their chances as Swindon held out to record their fourth victory under John Sheridan.