Swindon Town gearing up for FA Cup first round clash against York City

Swindon Town are gearing up for an FA Cup first round clash against non-league outfit York City at the County Ground next Saturday.

Phil Brown’s men have made a slightly sluggish start to the 2018/19 campaign, but a 2-1 win away at Notts County last time out carried them up to 13th in the League Two table. York are mid-table in the National League North, the sixth tier of English football, and Swindon really should take them apart in this game. A cup run could provide a welcome financial boost for the club and the first round draw looks favourable.

York lost 3-0 away at Spennymoor in their last game thanks to a Stephen Brogan opener and Glen Taylor’s brace. The defeat could have been heavier, as Spennymoor twice hit the woodwork, and fans gathered after the game to hurl abuse at new manager Sam Collins. A couple of years ago York were playing in the same division as Swindon, but two consecutive relegations have sent the club down to the National League and the fans are extremely frustrated. The Minstermen have lost their last two games and that is not exactly the sort of form to strike fear into Swindon hearts.

The Robins are now just two wins off a playoff spot in League Two and they still harbour vague hopes of earning promotion this season. On SBR one of the top bookmaker's is sportsbetting.ag, if you want to know more about them take a look at their review. On sportsbetting.ag you can find market-leading League Two odds where you will see that Swindon are just 13/2 to be promoted with some bookmakers. That compares favourably to the 50/1 on offer for them to be relegated, and it highlights their status as one of the biggest clubs in this division. A good run of form could boost their confidence and inspire them to charge up the table, and thumping York in the cup could well prove to be the catalyst.

First round winners will receive £36,000 in prize money, but it starts rapidly escalating if you make it through further rounds. York have not managed to reach the second round since 2011, and it would require a massive upset to topple Swindon at the County Ground. A year ago the Robins thrashed Dartford 5-1 to reach the second round and they will be hoping to go at least one better this time around. Last season they suffered a disappointing defeat at the hands of League Two rivals Stevenage in the second round last season. Stevenage went on to earn a lucrative home game against Reading, while Swindon were left ruing a missed opportunity.

Last season’s victory over Dartford ended a run of five consecutive first round exits for the Robins, with three of them coming at the hands of non-league opposition, and fans will hope that those days are firmly behind the club. They have Michael Doughty and Elijah Adebayo in fine form in front of goal, and they should have enough firepower to gun down a York side lumbered with a leaky defence.

The Minstermen have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last seven games, and the calibre of opposition they faced has been poor by Swindon’s standards. York have been making all sorts of mistakes at the back, and they have regularly been guilty of lapses in concentration, so Swindon should be confident of putting a few goals past them. The fans are behind the team at the moment and many turned out to watch them train this week. After turning their form around, the Robins need to maintain their focus and keep the momentum going and those fans really should be cheering another victory on November 10.