PLAYER RATINGS: Swindon Town 0-1 Crawley Town

SWINDON TOWN failed to make the most of a big opportunity to close the gap on the playoffs as Crawley Town scored the only goal of the game at The County Ground to earn their first away win since September. Total Sport Swindon's Ryan Walker gives his Robins player ratings following the action.

GK: Lawrence Vigouroux (6)

Was unlucky to concede in the manner he did after his save Morais rebounded off Woolfenden into his own net. Distribution was solid throughout but endured a relatively quiet game as Crawley sat back and defended for large parts. 

RB: Canice Carroll (3)

A birthday to remember for all the wrong reasons saw Canice Carroll put in an awful performance playing at right-back. Sloppy in possession saw Carroll struggle to accurately play even the simplest of passes as his efforts often put Swindon on the back foot. Won Swindon a penalty in the 88th minute but an all-round terrible performance from the loanee signing. 

CB: Luke Woolfenden (7)

Easily Swindon’s best player on the pitch today and did well to deal with the threat that Crawley’s pacey attackers posed. Produced some brilliant last-ditch defending at times when sloppy possession play put Swindon in trouble. 

CB: Tom Broadbent (6)

Looked confident and assured on the ball in his home debut to partner Woolfenden well in defence. Was strong in the air to win his aerial battles well and his positional play was excellent to nullify the threat of Ollie Palmer. A good performance and should provide a solid replacement following the departure of Nelson.

LB: Ali Koiki (5)

Added the pace to the left-back position that Swindon have missed this season but was too often caught out of possession when Town were dispossessed when on the attack. Linked up well with Anderson on the left-wing and provides a positive attacking outlet for Swindon but must do better defensively. 

RCM: Michael Doughty (4)

After putting in a man-of-the-match performance against Lincoln City in Swindon’s last home game, Doughty was poor throughout against Crawley. Playing in the number ten position Doughty should’ve been playing off the back of Crawley’s midfielders using his quality to unlock the visitor's defence. 

Instead, he often dropped deep looking for the ball and failed to produce the creativity that Swindon needed. Was withdrawn early on in the second half and must do better.

CM: Jak McCourt (5)

After positive recent performances have seen McCourt become a regular starter in this Town side, today’s showing was far below par from the 23-year-old. Hitting the post from a free-kick effort in the first-half nearly opened the scoring whilst Town’s attackers should’ve attacked some dangerous balls into the Crawley box better. 

LCM: James Dunne (5)

Another dogged display saw Dunne contest for the ball at every opportunity but his efforts in midfield, unfortunately, couldn’t be matched by his fellow teammates. Helped get Swindon out of some difficult situations but didn’t provide enough goal threat. 

RM: Kaiyne Woolery (4)

Took to long on the ball in the games opening exchanges and conceded possession far too easily throughout the entirety of the game. Switched wings with Anderson in the second half but rarely attempted to take on his opposite number and struggled to link up with Richards in attack. Woolery was brought to Swindon as a big name signing but he is yet to live up to the hype.

ST: Marc Richards © (4)

Scored on his last outing against Tranmere Rovers but was ineffective against Crawley this afternoon. Was the focal point of Swindon’s attack but failed to produce a single shot on target. 

LM: Keshi Anderson (5)

Did well at times to dribble through Crawley’s defence and put the Robins in goal-scoring positions but often did too much with the ball when a simple pass would’ve been the better option. Had his penalty saved in the 88th minute that would’ve given Swindon a point. 

SUBSTITUTIONS:

Danny Rose (5)

Came on to make his home debut in the second half and added solidity to Town’s midfield but didn’t make a considerable difference. Hard circumstances to come into and will be hoping to make the starting XI against Forest Green.

Scott Twine (5)

Introduced for Doughty early on in the second half and looked to have equalised for Swindon in the 85th minute only for his curling effort to fizz past the post. Struggled to adapt to the physicality of the game and was poor in possession. 

Ben House (N/A)

Had limited time to make an impact but did manage a shot on target in the 81st minute that was blocked well by Crawley.