SWINDON Town self-destructed in spectacular fashion as they fell to a home defeat at the hands of local rivals Bristol Rovers this evening.

After taking an early lead, Luke Williams’ side were forced to stand up to wave after wave of Rovers attack at the County Ground, and they defended manfully right up until a chastening sequence late in the second half, which saw the visitors score twice in a matter of minutes to snatch all three points.

Goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux and defender Lloyd Jones were brought straight back in after serving their respective one-match bans, with the latter replacing Jamie Sendles-White, who suffered the agony of a season-ending knee ligament injury during Saturday’s loss to Bury.

Bradley Barry also missed out as a result of a hamstring strain, with Darnell Furlong taking his place at right wing-back.

Jonathan Obika and Nathan Delfouneso maintained their partnership up front as Williams’ men went out looking to bring an end to their three-match winless run in League One against a side that had drawn their last four, save for two defeats to opposition from higher levels in cup competitions.

A large chunk of the pre-match build-up was focussed on supporters of both teams’ dissatisfaction at being charged entry despite the original meeting between the two teams being rained off last month but in the end, nearly 7000 fans, including more than 400 from down the M4, turned up to watch Swindon and Rovers play it again.

Town flew out of the blocks and fashioned a shooting chance within the opening minute as a well-constructed move ended with James Brophy flashing a powerful low cross into the feet of Obika but the Swindon number nine couldn’t divert the ball on target.

The hosts were full of intent early on, closing down their local rivals high up the pitch, and from one recovery of possession, the ball was worked out to Brophy on the left flank and he crossed for Furlong to get away a header, which was tipped over by Rovers goalie Kelle Roos.

From the resultant corner, Sean Murray's delivery was met by returning defender Jones, who made enough contact to redirect the ball past a despairing Roos.

That early setback seemingly woke the visitors out of their slumber and just past the 15-minute mark, the Town crossbar was left trembling as Vigouroux was forced to tip Chris Lines' devilish effort onto the woodwork.

Shortly afterwards, Rovers frontman Rory Gaffney showed great pace to get away from Nathan Thompson but his shot, which was taken early, was well-saved by goalie Vigouroux.

The away side continued to ask questions of the Town back line as the half wore on, with former Swindon man Billy Bodin teeing up Matty Taylor for a low cross from the left flank but his dangerous ball was vitally diverted away by the home keeper.

Midfielder Lines also had a powerful strike from just inside the area deflected wide with the Town back line powerless, and it took until the 39th minute for Yaser Kasim to buck the trend and trouble Roos with an effort he curled wide of the goal in front of the Stratton Bank.

The onslaught continued from the men in yellow after the break as top-scorer Taylor found himself in on goal but as he attempted to stroke home from inside the area, Vigouroux stuck out a paw and pulled off an unbelievable one-handed save to maintain his team’s advantage.

Just before the hour mark, Obika could only head substitute Brandon Ormonde-Ottewill’s cross into the arms of Roos and moments later, the visitors missed a golden opportunity to clinch an equaliser.

Ollie Clarke strode forward with purpose and unleashed a curling effort that pinged against the crossbar, with the rebound falling at the feet of the arriving Gaffney but, with a near-post gap to aim at, the Rovers forward skewed wide of the target to let Swindon off the hook.

Moments after his 73rd-minute introduction, Luke Norris came close to doubling the home side’s lead.

Town skipper Thompson skipped past an opponent with the ball at his feet and opened up the Rovers defence by playing in Norris but the Swindon striker shot straight at Roos from inside the area.

The hosts would go on to regret that missed opportunity as the visitors flipped the game on its head in a flash.

First, substitute Jermaine Easter was knocked over by Branco in the area and referee Langford pointed straight to the spot, with Taylor blasting high into the net from 12 yards to tie things up.

Then, Swindon gave up possession straight from kick-off and, as Rovers broke four-on-three, Easter flashed in a low ball from the right and a scrambling Branco turned into his own net at the near post as he attempted to find his feet.

All of Town’s fine defensive work was undone in the blink of an eye, leaving head coach Williams to reflect on a second successive home defeat.

SWINDON TOWN: Lawrence Vigouroux, Raphael Branco, Nathan Thompson (C), Lloyd Jones, Darnell Furlong, Yaser Kasim, Conor Thomas, Sean Murray (John Goddard 49), James Brophy (Brandon Ormonde-Ottewill 45), Jonathan Obika, Nathan Delfouneso (Luke Norris 73).

Subs not used: Will Henry, Anton Rodgers, Tom Smith, Jermaine Hylton, Luke Norris.

Attendance: 6,760 (414 away supporters)