Swindon Town players rated after Tranmere Rovers draw

Kristian Dennis gave the home side the lead after capitalising on a loose ball in the box in the first half before Chris Merrie put through his own net from a Swindon corner.

So, how did the players fare as individuals at Prenton Park?

Swindon picked up a draw at Tranmere (Image: Newsquest)

GK: Dan Barden – 5

The reality is we got no closer to knowing who the better goalkeeper is. You could argue Barden delayed the goal by five seconds with his massive arms, but he made two routine saves, made no big catches, and displayed competent and uncomplicated distribution. You can read into it what you like but I still don’t know what to judge him on.

RCB: Tunmise Sobowale – 4

I like Omari Patrick as a player, and he gave Sobowale a tough time. His recovery speed just about bailed him out a few times as his awareness was letting him down. He also seems to have become less aggressive with the ball over recent weeks which I don’t love.

CB: Will Wright – 5

Despite losing sight of Dennis for Tranmere’s other big chance it was another solid display from Wright if not his best. His long throws were probably as dangerous as they have been, and he consistently kept attacks alive.

LCB: Miguel Freckleton – 2

Oh boy. I think Freckleton’s confidence has taken a bit of a kicking over the first nine weeks, and it is probably time to remove him from the firing line. His touch doesn’t look as assured as it did and that is leading to some basic errors.

RWB: Jeff King – 3

For very understandable reasons King just did not look at it in this game. He was not getting into dangerous positions or getting the ball into the box as he normally would.

CM: Joel Cotterill – 5

It was far from consistent but there were patches in this game where Cotterill was contributing to some wonderful quick passing down the right that was opening up space either for Joel McGregor or on the left. He also nearly scored another screamer, which would have been welcome.

CDM: Gavin Kilkenny – 6

Key to that passing play was Kilkenny’s ability to quickly switch the ball across to where the space was. He had double the next Swindon player’s passes into the final third and that is what you want to see from him.

CM: Danny Butterworth – 5

I like Butterworth and he is good for driving with the ball, but I felt he left some chances on the pitch. The aforementioned work down the right opened up space for him and Cox but he never quite made the most of it.

LWB: George Cox – 6

It was not quite to the same extent as against Newport County, but Tranmere afforded Cox a bit more space and he looked exciting again. His low-drilled crosses look consistently threatening if only someone could work out how not to spoon them.

ST: Kabongo Tshimanga – 4

According to xG, he had Town’s best chance of the game and couldn’t hit the target when he diverted a cross over the top in the second half. I found it curious he was being used as the hold-up player and it did not seem to suit him as he again tended to fade into the background.

ST: Aaron Drinan – 6

Like last season, Drinan seems to be warming up now he is getting more games. His runs down the sides have purpose and he is getting into positions in the middle. He is not taking the chances, which is a separate issue, but I shall stick to the positive of improvement.

Substitutes:

Joel McGregor – 7

A seven feels a touch low but I don’t think I can quite justify an eight. McGregor vindicated my belief in pre-season that he was ready for this as he added a boatload of dynamism after coming on and was good for at least one assist with the two big chances he created.

Nnamdi Ofoborh – 4

This was a substitution that happened. He came on and never really impacted the game in either direction.

Paul Glatzel – 5

It was good to see more energy from Glatzel; he came on for 20 minutes and only Cox had more shots than him in the whole game. He injected the drive to win the game even if he snatched at the shots slightly.

Jake Cain – N/A