MATCH REPORT: Swindon Town (2) v (3) Chelsea U21's

SWINDON TOWN made a losing start to their 2019 leasing.com trophy campaign as Chelsea's Under-21 side scored three goals to secure all three points at the County Ground. Total Sport Swindon's Ryan Walker gives his match report live from the County Ground.

The game kicked off with the same amount of energy on the field as to what it was off of it. Slow, quiet and for large parts lacking in quality. A small crowd turned up at the County Ground to watch the newly renamed Leasing.com trophy match, and the opening ten minutes left lots to the imagination with May’s off-target shot in the 10th minute the only action from the opening period. 

The next ten minutes, however, couldn’t have been any more different as three goals in the space of ten minutes ignited the match into life. 

Tino Anjorin opened the scoring for the away side in the 12th minute following a mistake by Tom Broadbent that left the 17-year-old with an open goal to aim at, before the Chelsea academy product doubled his side's advantage just five minutes later after latching onto Lamptey’s low cross to tap the ball past McCormick. 

Two quick-fire goals from the energetic under-21 side appeared to shock the Swindon players into life. And the hosts responded immediately as Michael Doughty’s perfectly placed free-kick was well-met by the rising Dan Ballard in the 17th minute, with the Swindon midfielder nodding past Cumming to score his first competitive goal for the club and reduce Town’s deficit. 

A frantic ten minutes of action appeared to have burst the game into life, and despite there being no more first-half goals, both sides had good goal-scoring opportunities. Lloyd Isgrove nearly made it back-to-back goals with his 25th minute shot clawed away well by Cumming before Chelsea’s Charlie Brown was denied by the onrushing Luke McCormick in the 29th minute. 

Isgrove again had an opportunity to draw the sides level after finding himself through on goal in the 40th minute but could only blast his shot into the side netting leaving the crowd cheering a goal before reclusing into silence almost immediately. 

Tom Broadbent went close with a set-piece header on the stroke of half-time but Swindon couldn’t find the finishing touch needed to draw level as Chelsea went in at the interval with their lead just about intact. 

Swindon restarted the second half and picked up from where they left off as May fired a low close-range shot past Cumming just a minute after the game restarted to make it 2-2. 

Chelsea, however, refused to give up and the plucky London youngsters continued to attack down the wings with their everlasting energy causing havoc for Town’s new-look defence. 

Tyler Reid was too often caught out of position upfield by Chelsea, whilst the centre-back partnership of Broadbent and Ballard looked unorganised against the pacey academy attack. 

Anderson nearly put Swindon in front with his 50th-minute header going the wrong side of the crossbar, only for Chelsea to burst up the other end and restore their lead just minutes later as Charlie Brown smashed the ball past the helpless McCormick to make it 3-2 to the under-21 side. 

Richie Wellens may have made his sentiments clear on the EFL cup competition, but the STFC manager would have been disappointed at how Swindon had conceded goals so easily throughout the match. 

Jermaine McGlashan made a surprise appearance from the bench with the winger twice going close to scoring in the latter stages of the game, whilst Chelsea’s shot-stopper Cumming pulled off a save Premiership keepers would be proud of after somehow reaching Anderson’s 25-yard effort in the 66th minute. 

The remainder of the game saw Swindon continue to push for an equaliser but the young Chelsea defence was more than up to the task as Joe Edwards side held on to take the win in Souther Group F of the EFL Trophy.