Wellens delighted with performance as victory keeps Swindon top

RICHIE WELLENS praised the professional performance of his Swindon Town players as they held out for a hard-fought one-nil win over Mansfield Town at the County Ground earlier today to make it five wins on the bounce as the Robins stayed top of League Two. Total Sport Swindon's Chief Of Sport Ryan Walker spoke to the STFC manager following the victory.

Eoin Doyle's 22nd minute goal was enough to secure all three league points for Swindon Town, as they battled against a technically-gifted Mansfield side to grind out a deserved victory. 

Both team's had chances to score as Nicky Maynard, Paul Caddis, and Doyle all had efforts hit the woodwork in what was an entertaining ninety minutes of football. However, Doyle's seventeenth goal of the season was all that was required to get the win. 

Giving his analysis on the action as Swindon extended their winning streak to keep the club two points clear at the top of the table, Wellens said:

"They [Mansfield] did [play well] and maybe we had a bit of the luck that we were lacking in midweek [against Cheltenham]," said Wellens. 

"That ten minute period from half-time to sixty minutes was hard. 

"We had to take Jordan Lyden off because he felt his hamstring and our options as to who should come on were quite limited. 

"Not in terms of personnel but I didn't want to move Grant from holding midfield and we then had two left-footed players so our balance was a little bit wrong," he added. 

"They [Mansfield] are a big, strong and physical team. Maynard and Cook up front had a lot of long balls up to them and we struggled with that in that ten minute period. 

"I can only remember Steven Benda having to make one save in that ten minute period when he flicked it over the bar from close range and then Maynard had a chance but hit it into the sidenetting," he said. 

"But we also had a lot of chances. In the first half we had a great move where Doyley [Eoin Doyle] hit the bar and if that had gone in we would've had a far more comfortable finish. 

"This league isn't like that though, they changed the way they played and caused us a few problems, but I'm really pleased with the way we played in that last twenty-minutes where we dug in," added Wellens. 

An action-packed match saw Swindon dominate in large parts as their fluidity on the ball combined with their determination to win it back quickly when out of possession stopped the Stags building any type of momentum in the first-half. 

However despite not scoring, it was the visitors who came closest to finding the back of the net in the second period of play as Mansfield played long balls up to their attackers. 

And Wellens admitted that the forced change of Jordan Lyden created problems for his side but praised the all round defensive performance of his players. 

"What was happening weas that we wanted to press and our strikers were pressing, our midfielders were half-pressing, but the gap between them and Zeki [Fryers] and Mathieu Baudry was too big," said Wellens. 

"Mansfield were able to drop balls in and they started causing a threat.

"Once Tom [Broadbent] came on and with Anthony Grant covered the midfield it gave us a bigger stranglehold on the game," he added. 

"Tom did great when he came on and it was a game in which we needed his heading ability and his physicality."

"I also thought he made good decisions on the ball and he kept it simple which made it a really effective performance from him," said Wellens. 

Making just one change from the side that won 3-1 away at Salford City in their last league outing saw Wellens replace Ellis Iandolo with club legend Paul Caddis as the 31-year-old made his second debut for Swindon after returning on a short-term deal. 

Playing at right-back, Caddis enjoyed an impressive afternoon, hitting the bar inside the opening ten minutes before revieving the man of the match award. 

Speaking on his performance, Wellens was impressed with the professionalism of Caddis but explained that he needs time to build up his match fitness.

"It would've been some story if that shot had gone in wouldn't it," stated Wellens. 

"But he's way off it fitness wise at the moment.

"He got through the match though because he's an experienced player. 

"It's similar to when we signed Anthony Grant and he had no preseason. 

"If that was an under-23 player he's have been struggling but Paul put in a great performance," said Wellens. 

Victory for Swindon made it five consecutive league wins for the club, a feat that was last achieved in 2014 under the management of Mark Cooper. 

But Wellens insisted he was more impressed with his team's ability to adapt to different styles of play than he was with the scoreline.

"It's three wins on the bounce at home now," said Wellens.

"In the first-half Mansfield wanted to come and play but when they started to play long it caused us a few problems. 

"If you're going to get promoted you do need have these different aspects in your game," he said. 

"Physically we're ok but when teams are playing long you need to be in the right positions. 

"I'd like to have got a goal on the counter-attack but a cleansheet is very pleasing," added Wellens.