Swindon Town netted four minutes into stoppage time to salvage a 2-2 draw with Gillingham following yet another lost lead.
Sean McGurk dispatched his first senior goal to put Town in front before Oli Hawkins and Connor Mahoney saw the hosts turn the game around, but Harry McKirdy fired home in stoppage time to see the spoils shared.
So, how did the players fare as individuals at the Priestfield Stadium?
GK: Jack Bycroft – 6
Bycroft pulled off a wonder save in stoppage time to stop the result from being even more ridiculous than it already was. Swindon played a bit shorter out from the back in this game and I thought his choice of pass was very good to put Town in good positions to build up.
RB: Udoka Godwin-Malife – 5
Godwin-Malife was a little bit quieter in this game again. The struggles Paul Glatzel had ahead of him probably didn’t help and generally, the space was in more central areas.
CB: Conor McCarthy – 6
Defensive rock and now assist king for McCarthy. Aside from the mad minute when he was left unmarked twice in the area to hit the post and then score his goal, Swindon marshalled Hawkins well. McCarthy dropped a point as I felt he was a bit safe with the ball.
CB: Frazer Blake-Tracy – 6
I actually thought Blake-Tracy was having a really good game until he decided to chop down Jorge Cabezas Hurtado. He was physical and nobody was able to run beyond him. That was until the Colombian livewire came on and ruined it all.
LB: Williams Kokolo – 4
I really enjoy watching Gavin Gunning on the sideline and I can see that he shares my frustrations with Kokolo. He just seems to be on a different page to everyone else and aside from one good cross to Glatzel, he just gives the ball away too much.
CM: Dawson Devoy – 5
After a few good performances in a row, this was a more frustrating one. For much of the game, Gillingham just seemed to have forgotten about Devoy and Jake Cain, but they never managed to convert that into more chances.
CDM: George McEachran – 7
I have thought McEachran as a deep-lying playmaker could be interesting for a little while and it largely proved to be so. He broke the lines with his passes and was always an option for the centre-backs. However, there were too many times when Swindon lacked the physical presence in midfield that allowed the Gills to overwhelm them, this is not necessarily his fault but a result of the make-up of that midfield.
CM: Jake Cain – 5
The same goes for Cain as Devoy. He took up some great positions, found the space and then would misplace a pass. He always seems to have promise but never quite delivers on it.
RW: Paul Glatzel – 5
This was probably his most difficult game in a Town shirt so far. Shad Ogie is the first defender who has been able to keep pace with him, and although it cost the defender one of his legs, and it made for a tough evening for Glatzel. With that said, he is about three combined inches away from a hat-trick.
ST: Charlie Austin – 5
A steady performance as much as anything. His normal dropping in to play forward act worked nicely and he seemed to have a good understanding with McGurk. But he was lacking that little bit of cutting edge in the final third to be higher.
LW: Sean McGurk – 8
With the exception of Sol Pryce, I can’t think of too many better first league starts. He was involved in everything good that Swindon did whilst he was on the pitch and capped it off with a fine goal. He looks like he could be another gem.
Subs:
Aaron Drinan – 6
He never really looked like scoring, but he did some nice stuff. He holds the ball up well and can also run the channels. He seems like a dog-work striker more than a goal scorer, but that might not be the worst thing.
Harry McKirdy – 7
What a moment. He took his goal so well in crunch time. How his earlier chance didn’t end up in the net, I don’t know but he has made an impact in every game and this goal should help bring that confidence back.
Rushian Hepburn-Murphy – 4
Playing him as a CAM was a bit of an odd choice and he never really got into the game other than one burst through the middle when he couldn’t quite find McKirdy.
Zac Elbouzedi – 5
His pace will always cause problems, but his final ball was missing once again and in a compressed pitch he was less effective.
Tom Brewitt – N/A
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