Swindon Town players rated after Notts County defeat

Gavin Kilkenny gave Swindon the lead with a wonderful first-half strike, but two stunners from David McGoldrick saw the Magpies come from behind to take all three points from the Nigel Eady County Ground.

So, how did the players fare as individuals in Town’s second home game?

(Image: Newsquest)

GK: Jack Bycroft – 6

McGoldrick gave Bycroft no chance with either goal, I think even his biggest critics would say that. The part of Bycroft’s performance that I liked was last week Mark Kennedy said he wanted him to mix up his kicking more and he did that well to help Swindon maintain periods of dominance.

Sobowale made his first league start (Image: Andy Crook)

RCB: Will Wright – 6

A very solid performance from Wright. He stepped forward to good effect on a few occasions and he and Tunmise Sobowale seemed to have a good understanding both with and without the ball.

CB: Grant Hall – 5

This was Hall’s best game with the ball as he was happy stepping into midfield to help break and Notts County press. As he slows down a bit there are moments when he gets caught out but equally his organisation was good in a game where that was important.

LCB: Miguel Freckleton – 7

Freckleton’s experience at left-back in this game was a real asset here as both wing-backs were right-footed, so he could step forward and offer a threat from a cross. He seemed to be the spare man a lot and he exploited that.

Kilkenny netted on his debut (Image: Andy Crook)

RWB: Tunmise Sobowale – 7

I said last week that I was interested to see if he could offer his dynamism from the start and he definitely proved that he can. For the first half an hour he gave Nick Tsaroulla a torrid time in attack and then switched to the other side and pocketed Jodi Jones. If he can be taught to cross like Remeao Hutton was then he could be devastating.

CM: Ollie Clarke – 5

A bit like Hall, I think his leadership was important as, particularly in the first half, organisation was key and he was always in the right spot. But in a game where Town ended up having a decent amount of the ball he only really had one moment in that way.

CDM: Gavin Kilkenny – 8

I think I’m in love. It has only taken 18 months but on the basis of today, Swindon might have finally found a Louis Reed replacement. He moves the ball but does it with purpose and he also had the engine to get around the pitch and negated Dan Crowley. If only McGoldrick hadn’t shown him up with his goals being even better than Kilkenny’s.

CM: Joel Cotterill – 6

Cotterill felt like he was a little bit on the ropes today after some up-and-down displays and with new players coming in. He responded and responded well. He looked vastly more comfortable playing higher up, caused real problems down the left with his willingness to make third-man runs. Also, if he scored his Paul Gascoigne/ Dele Alli goal then I would have lost my mind.

Glatzel tries a bicycle kick (Image: Andy Crook)

LWB: Jeff King - 6

He struggled at the start as Jones had the better of the duel. Once he swapped with Sobowale, he was able to become an attacking threat and did well. It is still a joke that he was the sponsor's man of the match above Kilkenny, though.

ST: Paul Glatzel – 7

Swindon keeping the ball more helped Glatzel play much more like himself as he just had the ball more. He is still trying to frantically play himself into form, as he did when he first arrived, but he was involved in everything and partnered well with Harry Smith. His work off the ball was also excellent.

ST: Harry Smith – 6

His aerial prowess was less apparent because Swindon were vastly less hit and hope into him, for the better, I might add. But he did a lot of thankless work in this game whilst also getting into the right positions, although the crossing left something to be desired.

Substitutes:

Aaron Drinan – 5

I think he successfully added the legs that Swindon needed as Smith was fading. This helped Town to keep Notts under the cosh and continued pushing for the goal they couldn’t quite get.

Kabongo Tshimanga – 6

A promising start. He made some great runs in behind and also showed himself to be willing without the ball on top of being a poacher. He didn’t get the big chance you might have wanted but he showed a lot of what you would want.

Danny Butterworth – 6

He didn’t get an awful lot of chances but he showed the signs that he could be what Swindon were missing. He wanted to get on the ball and looked to get after Notts County when he had it.

Jake Cain – N/A