Payne frustrated by Swindon's draw against Harrogate

JACK PAYNE admitted Swindon Town didn’t do enough to win yesterdays game against Harrogate Town as his 83rd minute penalty saved Swindon a point in a 1-1 draw at the County Ground. Total Sport Swindon’s Ryan Walker spoke to the Swindon playmaker following the match.

Jack Payne converted from the penalty spot to score for a third consecutive game as Swindon failed to maintain their 100% win record for November. Speaking after the game, Payne made no attempt to hide his frustration insisting players need to be doing more to find solutions on the pitch.

“When you go a goal down it’s always good to come back so it is a positive reaction but at the same time we are more than good enough to beat Harrogate,” said Payne.

“I nearly scored at the end and we were on the front-foot so we are annoyed not to get all three points in the end.

“I think you have to give Harrogate some credit because they did their homework, played man-for-man and that made it really difficult for us.

“It’s up to us to find solutions quicker and we can’t wait to half-time for the manager to tell us. We need to work that out on the pitch ourselves,” he added.

“First half was really difficult, we found ourselves a goal down and we responded in the second half.

“I think we set up different in the second half and it made it harder for Harrogate to pick us up and we took them to areas they might not necessarily have wanted to go.

“They worked their socks off in the first half and were always going to tire. The way we played we were always going to get stronger as the game went on.

“Five more minutes at the end and we probably would have gone on to win that game but we didn’t do enough over 90 minutes to deserve the win,” said Payne.

Payne was made to wait after referee Alan Young pointed to the spot following a challenge on Jayden Mitchell-Lawson by Lewis Page. But the Swindon midfielder admitted he didn’t mind the wait before converting from the spot before insisting his side should have had another penalty in the games closing stages.

“I don’t really mind the wait because it gives me more time to think,” stated Payne.

“I do my homework during the week so I know what I am going to do. 

“I felt confident going up to the ball and was really pleased to hit the back of the net. 

“I thought we should’ve had another penalty. Ellis [Iandolo] had a clear-cut penalty,” he added.

“From the angle it definitely looked like a penalty and after speaking with him he said it was a stonewall penalty.

“It’s a shame because that makes a difference but at the same time we know we won’t always get the decisions and it is in our hands to get the win,” said Payne.