Swindon Town players rated after Cheltenham Town victory

A trio of defenders in George Cox, Will Wright, and Joel McGregor had Town in charge before George Miller and Ethon Archer made for an uncomfortable ending.

So, how did the players fare as individuals at The EV Charging Points Stadium?

(Image: Newsquest)

GK: Dan Barden – 4

I don’t know if this is harsh, but it would definitely be brought up if it was Jack Bycroft, Barden did not fill me with confidence with the two goals. They are both close range, I just think that at best his actions were confusing, especially leaving the ball to come across to Miller for the first.

RCB: Tunmise Sobowale – 5

The good and the bad with Sobowale. He did what I wanted to see more of in stepping forward to get the assist for the first and he had the confidence to do so often. On the other side, there were some nervy moments from him defensively when you could see he was learning the position.

CB: Will Wright – 6

Wright being the only player with multiple league goals is something that needs to change quickly but he is doing his bit with different kinds of goals. For the first half an hour, he looked as flustered as he has been before gaining that composure back after then.

LCB: Miguel Freckleton – 4

Barden and Freckleton are equally culpable for the first goal as they left the ball for each other, although the goalkeeper should be the one taking charge. Overall he was better than in recent league matches but the panic definitely came back in during the final 20 minutes.

Sobowale celebrates with the fans (Image: Andy Crook)

RWB: Joel McGregor – 8

This is his position now, no doubt about it. Everything about his game since stepping in has been exceptional and there simply is no argument to take him out when Jeff King returns. His goal was a lovely moment and a fitting reward for his performance in attack and defence.

CM: Nnamdi Ofoborh – 6

Much of this game was pretty scrappy, especially the opening 30 minutes and that suited Ofoborh as he gave as good as he got in the midfield battle. He still lacks going forward more than the others in his position but he was right for this game.

CDM: Gavin Kilkenny – 7

Kilkenny is learning from his first few weeks in League Two and has both sides to his game. He works hard without the ball and once Town had earned the right to play, he was excellent in controlling the tempo and getting the team going.

CM: Ollie Clarke – 5

Still returning to fitness, it was a mixed performance from Clarke. Along with Ofoborh, he made Swindon more aggressive in the middle and he gets into the box really well. The drawback is he is in possession he was less effective in getting the ball forward.

McGregor scores his first league goal (Image: Andy Crook)

LWB: George Cox – 8

I was right about Cox last week but he addressed all of my concerns during this game. He was making sure he got into dangerous areas before looking to cross and that created many big chances and he came up big with the goal when it was needed to settle everyone down.

ST: Danny Butterworth – 7

The space that Cheltenham left was perfect for Butterworth. When they are at it, his link-up with Cox is very exciting and we saw that many times when Swindon were at their best to create big chances.

ST: Paul Glatzel – 8

He deserved a goal. His work without the ball was tireless and with a tough assignment he was terrific in getting Swindon up the pitch and causing havoc in the Cheltenham back line.

Glatzel gets away from his marker (Image: Andy Crook)

Substitutes:

Harrison Minturn – 8

Huge. Minturn was the standout when things got hairy at the end, he won countless big headers and added calm when others looked nervous.

Botan Ameen – 6

The moment when he took the ball down up against a defender, beat him, and then drew the foul to waste time was magnificent. That FA Youth Cup run has given him game intelligence far beyond his years. Plus, he nearly created a good goal for Butterworth.

Ryan Delaney – N/A

Rosaire Longelo – N/A