So for the second consecutive Tuesday City face a very good Swindon Town side in the second round of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy at the Park in front of an uninspired crowd of 2006. City lined up: Marriott; Seaborne, Taylor, Archibald-Henville, Tully; Cozic, Sercombe, Dunne; Stansfield, Logan, Corr.

 

It was understandable that with seven changes to the starting line up from that which demolished Hartlepool at the weekend that it might take a little while for City to find their feet, but as it was it was City who registered their first interest in the Swindon goal in the tenth minute when Logan gave a lazy looking swing at a ball that spun harmlessly past the angle of post and bar and into the Swindon fans behind the goal.

 

Next it was Swindon's turn to have a pop, and boy did they ever in the 16th minute scoring a spectacular, if somewhat fortuitous, opening goal. Twinkle-toed winger Anthony McNamee collected the ball way out on the touchline pretty much level with the end of the Stagecoach Stand and in a single movement hoisted a hanging dipping ball to the back post. With Marriott stranded, the ball sailed over his head into the far top corner to give the visitors an unlikely goal, given the look of surprise on the scorer's face. Mis-hit cross or mis-hit shot? Who knows, all that matters is that it went in to make it 1-0 to Swindon.

 

In the 20th minute, with City looking for an early response, Corr and Stansfield exchanged passes before Corr's deft flick drifted wide from 15 yards, the Logan hit City's first proper strike on goal with a 20 yard snapshot straight at the keeper. Two minutes later Troy sent Seaborne scampering down the left where he played a cute ball into Stansfield just inside the box. Stansfield turned and shot, but it was blocked for a corner.

 

Seaborne again was involved minutes later crossing for Tully on the corner of the box. He flicked back for Corr but his fierce drive from 18 yards was blocked at source. It wasn't all City though - far from it - and with ten minutes of the half remaining Marriott had to be at his very best plunging at the far post to smother a close range drive from a raking cross from the left.

 

In the 38th minute Stansfield robbed a dawdling defender 40 yards out and exchanged a neat one-two with Corr before firing low to the far corner. Fortunately for the visitors the keeper got enough of a hand to it to send the ball bobbling agonisingly wide of the post. Finally for the half it was Dunne's turn to try and reduce the deficit with City's best effort of the half. He received a ball inside some 30 yards out and sent an exquisite chip to the far top corner. With the keeper backpedalling furiously, it was all he could do to get the merest of fingertips to the ball and deflect it over for a corner.

 

The start of the second half saw Corr replaced by Golbourne as City switched from 4-3-3 to a more conventional 4-4-2 with Golbourne taking up a wide midfield slot on the left. However it was Tully down the right that gave Swindon cause for concern in the opening minute sending a peach of a cross towards Logan that a defender just beat to conceding a corner.

 

Five minutes later Swindon looked to increase their lead when Alex Revell wriggled free on the right before unleashing a fierce drive that Marriott palmed away well at his near post. Until the introduction of Fleetwood midway through the half, the game had deteriorated into a dour midfield slog, so with Dunne making way City changed back to 4-3-3 again in search of an equaliser.

 

Matt Taylor came closest a couple of minutes later after a scramble from a corner, but from a prone position could only prod the ball straight at the keeper through a sea of legs. On the half hour City looked to have been denied a clear penalty when Fleetwood was bundled over in the box after a barnstorming run down the right, then at the next break in play City made their final substitution replacing Tully with Saunders and going for yet another formation change to 3-4-3 with Saunders taking station at right midfield.

 

For six of the closing ten minutes it was 3-3-3 as Bertie was laid up with cramp in his left leg, and while he was off the pitch Swindon almost snatched a second as Taylor was too easily muscled off the ball by giant substitute Lee Peacock. Marriott stayed tall in the City goal forcing Peacock wide as he broke through, and eventually saved well with his feet as the striker looked to shoot from an increasingly narrow angle.

 

But with the board up showing three minutes stoppage time City snatched an unlikely equaliser. Marriott's huge punt upfield was flicked on by Logan just outside the box, and with the most outrageously sublime flick with the outside of the boot Fleetwood lifted the ball over the keeper and into the back of the net from about ten yards to make the full time score one each.

 

And so with no extra time in the competition this year it was straight to penalties with City up first. Logan blasted his low to the keeper's right sending him the wrong way: 1-0. Jon-Paul McGovern chose the same corner, and although Marriott did as well, he couldn't quite reach it and it was in: 1-1. Seaborne blasted confidently straight down the middle for 2-1, then Michael Timlin drove left as Marriott dived right for 2-2.

 

Taylor drove high to the keeper's left, beating him with power as he got fingertips to it for 3-2, then Hasney Aliofree stroked the ball nonchalantly to Marriott's right to make it 3-3. Saunder's waist high penalty wasn't far enough to the keeper's right as he pushed it around the post, then Kevin Amankwaah gave Swindon the lead with a powerful blast straight down the middle. Fleetwood's low drive to the right needed to go in to keep City in the competition, but the keeper guessed correctly and saved well to end the game at 3-4 to the visitors in the shootout.

 

So now we can concentrate on the league, as the old cliché goes. However, given City's appalling cup record under Tisdale, it wasn't much of a surprise that the only way we progressed to the second round was by having a bye in the first. If truth be told tonight was a truly turgid affair, with little to cheer the small crowd who must have wondered why they bothered, especially as the weather all day had been as dull as the football served up in the evening.

 

Of the players, for someone who hasn't played a meaningful game in such a long time, Marriott did remarkably well, and was only undone by a bit of a fluke from McNamee. In defence Seaborne was easily the pick of the bunch - if not the whole team - and it was good to see Tully given a run out too. In midfield Bertie gave a typically wholehearted display, and Dunne looked increasingly like a shrewd signing for Tisdale with another polished performance.

 

Up front little was happening with the Swindon back line looking very hard to break down, until the introduction of Fleetwood that is, who gave a blistering performance - including a goal of no little quality - for the 20 or so minutes he was on the pitch. As for the rest, well perhaps it shows why some are getting more starts than others, and three games in a week has meant Tis has had to chop and change the line-up to try and keep players fresh.

 

Which I suspect will signal wholesale changes again for the trip to Huddersfield at the weekend, then it's on to Walsall the following weekend before we return to the Park in a couple of weeks for the visit of Wycombe. Hopefully with a tidy points haul too, as the players will look to bounce back from tonight's unimaginative affair. So see you in three weeks then when we return to proper action at the Park - personally I can't wait.

 

Ant Moxey