Swindon Town 2 Gillingham 2

Match 18/13/1045 - Saturday, 24th August 2013 - League One

Swindon Town (1) 2 Byrne 12, Thompson 70
Gillingham (1) 2 Kedwell 18, McDonald 85
Att. 7,520

Entrance: £19 Senior
Programme: £3
Mileage: 272/1,369

Match Report

It was a sorry set of statistics to take into any fixture, no win at the County Ground for 31 years and not even a point since 1987. Despite the slight lift of confidence brought about by the spirited draw against Brentford, hopes were not high that the Swindon bogey could be laid to rest.

The rivalry that has existed between the clubs since the infamous clashes of 1979 has generated an atmosphere that has not been conducive to a pleasant visit in the past, but on this occasion, it appeared that some of the heat is beginning to finally subside from this fixture.

Ex-Newcastle United striker, Nile Ranger, the subject of a charge of rape to which he has pleaded not guilty in his initial court appearance, was a sitting target for abuse and this deflected the majority of the customary "banter" between the two sets of supporters.

The day had begun badly with a painful journey around the M25 that added the best part of an hour to the journey, it picked up with the best fish and chips consumed within the vicinity of a football ground for some while and ended happily with a well-earned point from another improved performance.

Martin Allen kept faith with the team that had performed admirably against Brentford and had an early chance to open the scoring when Adebayo Akinfenwa shot narrowly wide of the right hand post but it was the hosts that took the lead after 12 minutes.

Swindon employed an out-and-out winger in Alex Pritchard and positioned Jay McEveley almost as wide behind him. This twin threat curtailed Michael Harriman's adventurous nature from full back and he required continual help to counter the threat. Pritchard was the initial provider for the goal, with Nathan Byrne bundling the ball into the net from close range following a cross.

Any thoughts that the long throw into the box routine that worked well in League Two might be a bit agricultural for the division above were dispelled when Chris Whelpdale hurled a throw to the near post and Danny Kedwell rose highest to glance the ball past Wes Foderingham. It was simple, effective and surprising that it worked.

Gillingham were struggling to contain the wing play that was being serviced from midfield by Ryan Harley and Stuart Nelson was called upon a trio of times to make saves before on the half-hour a fierce free kick from Charlie Lee was spilt by Foderingham, who recovered to smother Kedwell's attempt from the rebound.

For much of the opening 25 minutes of the second half, Gillingham more than held their own, although Harley was continuing to be difficult to contain and from his cross in the 69th minute Nathan Thompson scored at the far post to give the home side a barely deserved lead.

Cody McDonald was introduced for Akinfenwa straight away and he injected pace to the front line. Five minutes from the end, a Swindon attack was broken up by a long clearance from Leon Legge and McDonald raced clear of Grant Hall before steadying himself in the box to shoot past Foderingham to the absolute delight of the 452 travelling supporters.

At the final whistle, there was further evidence that the animosity is not considered such a threat when, on leaving the ground, we were not greeted with the ring of police of previous years. It was a quiet, untroubled walk back to the car with an inner satisfaction from another improved performance and whilst it is still 31 years since victory was tasted at the County Ground, at least the other sorry statistic was consigned to the bin.