PLAYER RATINGS: Swindon Town (0) v (3) Peterborough United

Swindon Town suffered a fourth consecutive home defeat against Peterborough United as John Sherridan's STFC dropped into the League One relegation zone. Read below as Total Sport Swindon's Ryan Walker gives his Robins player ratings following the defeat.

GK: L Camp (6.5)

Swindon’s best performer of the day despite conceding three goals. Made a series of key stops to keep Town in the game including a great close-range save from Eisa and a diving effort to deny Dembele his hat-trick in the closing moments of the game. Picked up a yellow for bringing down Clarke-Harris for a penalty with the striker through on goal but it didn’t matter as he missed anyway.

CB: T Curran (5)

Made a rare start and did better than many expected him to. Poor defending saw Dembele skip past him for ease as he scored his second goal but Curran did well to produce a good block inside his own box from Burrows. Still part of a defence that conceded three goals which can’t be underestimated.

CB: A Grant (4.5) 

A poor day at the office for Grant saw him struggle against the United attackers. One of many players that should’ve cleared the ball in the build-up to the opening goal and was sent sliding as Dembele sent him the wrong way before scoring his second. Poor when in possession and was well below his best. 

CB: J Grounds (5)

Did well down the left-hand side at times but failed to help solidify a defence that has been leaking goals recently. A pretty uneventful afternoon for the defender with the majority of Peterborough’s attacks coming down the opposite wing. Had a shot off-target in the dying moments of the game.

LWB: D Thompson (4)

Not sure what Thompson offers Swindon, he is poor defensively and equally poor in attack. Enjoyed lots of the ball high up the pitch during the first-half against Peterborough but would often give the ball away. His poor pass into midfield kick-started the visitor's attack that led to the opening goal and after a poor showing in the opening 45 minutes was dragged off in the second.

RWB: J Garrick (6)

Swindon’s most impressive player going forward as he got the better of full-back Butler on countless occasions, but was poor defensively as Dembele run riot down his wing. Should never have been deployed as a wing-back and it would be unfair to criticise his defending because management made a mistake asking him to carry out this role. Frustrating at times when always looking for the cut-back across goal when a shot would’ve been the better option.

CM: M Palmer (4.5)

Sometimes I forgot Matty Palmer is on the pitch because he drifts through most games without actually doing much. Always looks for the safe pass and is slow in transition when Swindon tried to get on the attack against Peterborough. 

CM: C Missilou (5)

Made back-to-starts today after returning from international duty and looked bright at moments but lacked the pace needed to significantly threaten Peterborough’s defence. Broke up play well and often kick-started Swindon’s attacks but was too often caught high up the pitch when United broke on the counter-attack.

LM: S Twine (5)

Tested Bursik from the edge of the box with a strong first-time shot in the second-half, but overall this was a disappointing performance from Twine. Dived to try and win a penalty when in with a good chance of testing the keeper in the first-half and was rightly shown a yellow card. Often tried to do too much with the ball and as a result was frequently bullied off the ball, conceding possession in dangerous areas.

RM: J Payne (5)

Drifted from the right-wing into the middle of the park and was one of the few players who was bright on the ball and looking to try and create something. Got into plenty of attacking areas but was let down by a lack of support from teammates. Was surprisingly replaced by Pitman early in the second-half. If Swindon are to stay up this season then they need more players with Payne’s attitude.

ST: H Hope (4)

Made a rare start upfront in place of Pitman but did little to justify keeping his place for the upcoming Rochdale game. Can’t remember him having a sniff at goal but in his defence, Swindon never played to his strengths.

SUBSTITUTIONS:

B Pitman (5)

Brought on early in the second-half to try and influence the game but was unable to do that. Had a half-chance in the closing minutes with a shot that went over the bar. 

T Broadbent (5)

Replaced Thompson in the attacking full-back position but was deployed as a second striker in the final ten minutes. Had a headed effort cleared off the line in the closing moments of the match.

J Grant (N/A)

Brought on with less than ten minutes left.