Swindon thrashed Gillingham 5-0 at the County Ground with a brace each for Simon Cox and Billy Paynter after Jon Paul McGovern had opened the scoring in a superb performance against Gillingham who had enjoyed a recent mini revival, writes Adrian Smith..
Swindon made a dream start against old rivals Gillingham when Jon-Paul McGovern volleyed home from close range past Gills keeper Simon Royce after Craig Easton had flicked the ball on following a move down the left wing to put the Robins one goal up.
Jon Paul McGovern and Christian Roberts celebrate
The good start got even better two minutes later when Simon Cox found himself in space some 10 yards from goal after the ball had ricocheted around the visitors penalty area from a McGovern corner and he made a smart turn to carve out enough space to place the ball over the advancing Gills keeper Simon Royce.
The visitors match got even worse when they were forced into a substitution in the 12th minute with Ian Cox having to leave the field with a head injury and was replaced by Simon King.
Gillingham looked shell shocked after their nightmare start but slowly regained some composure to attack the Swindon goal and eventually gained a corner in the 19th minute which was easily dealt with by the Robins defence. Former Town manager Iffy Onuora looked understandably subdued leaning against the dugout with his charges struggling to get in the match and they would have been looking to make more of an impact after putting 4 goals past high flying Orient in midweek.
The Gills earned another corner in the 21st minute but Craig Easton did well to head the ball away under pressure although the visitors had two corners in quick succession which were eventually cleared by the Town defence.
Gillingham were almost caught out by a Town counterattack when Simon Cox got behind the defence and found himself with only the keeper to beat but he disappointingly fired the ball wide of goal. Shortly afterwards the referee denied Swindon a stonewall penalty when Billy Paynter was cleared pulled backwards by Simon King on the edge of the 6 yard box when trying to reach a header by Roberts in the 28th minute.
Swindon were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the area when Craig Easton was fouled while shooting goalwards but Lee Peacock's shot flew just over the crossbar in the 29th minute. Two minutes later Sam Collins needed treatment after taking a knock when he fouled Facey but the Town centre half was able to continue.
Christian Roberts mounted a one-man charge into the penalty area before unleashing a powerful shot which struck fellow Town forward Cox who was penalised for offside.
Sam Collins was still limping and had to be replaced by Chris Blackburn in the 34th minute and he was soon in the action as the visitors had a corner in the 36th minute which was cleared long downfield.
The Robins were awarded a corner in the 38th minute which saw Lee Peacock head goalbound while appealing to the referee for a foul claiming he had been pushed. A minute later a good move down the right wing saw McGovern send over an inviting cross which Billy Paynter stooped forward to head goalbound and his effort only just went wide.
Gillingham were struggling to mount a serious attack on the Swindon goal although David Graham and Sean Clohessy did manage to get shots in during the 2 added minutes but Town held firm and went in for the half time tea with a well deserved two nil lead.
Half Time: Swindon Town 2 Gillingham 0
Iffy Onoura replaced Adam Nowland at halftime with Mark Bentley and it was the visitors who had the first attack of the new half when Simon King headed over the bar from a corner in the 47th minute. Swindon responded immediately and mounted a counterattack which resulted in a fingertip save curling shot
Simon Cox almost scored with an audacious overhead kick from close range when he found plenty of space with the Gills defence beaten but his effort struck the post and rebounded to safety in front of the Town End in the 50th minute. Christian Roberts also went close with a powerful shot which went just wide shortly afterwards with Simon Royce beaten.
Swindon went further ahead in the 52nd minute when Billy Paynter outmuscled the defence and sent an upstoppable shot past Royce from close range to set the County Ground buzzing with Town threatening to add even more goals against the visitors who seemed to have given up the fight.
Efe Sodje took a knock in a challenge with Jerel Ifil who almost repeated his goalscoring heroics but his header went narrowly wide and Sodje was able to continue after treatment. Shortly afterwards Jamie Vincent had to leave the field after taking a knock and he handed the captain's armband to Jerel Ifil before being replaced by Michael Pook in the 59th minute.
Billy Paynter went close to extending the lead when he snatched the ball off McGovern's toes in the penalty area following a long ball across field by Roberts to McGovern before Paynter unleashed a powerful volley which struck the crossbar. Swindon continued to push forward which led to Simon Cox heading powerfully home in the 62nd minute from a McGovern cross which saw a big exodus of away fans from the Stratton Bank.
Simon Cox is congratulated by the Town End after his 2nd goal
Phil Smith eventually had to make a save from a header by Gary Mulligan in the 69th minute with the visitors struggling to mount any attacks!
Craig Easton sent in a powerful header from close range when he got to the ball just before Simon Cox who was seeking his first senior hat trick but Easton's effort was caught by Royce. Cox was involved again moments later when he did well to control the ball with his chest but was just unable to turn and shoot and the chance was gone.
Michael Pook did well to deny Delroy Facey a certain goal when the Swindon midfielder somehow managed to flick the ball away for a corner which was easily dealt with by Phil Smith with 14 minutes of the ha;f remaining. Shortly afterwards Jon Paul McGovern tried to double his goals tally for the match with a wicked curling shot but the ball was always rising and flew over the bar.
Swindon finally went nap against their old rivals in the 84th minute when Billy Paynter pounced on a dreadful ball played across field by Mark Bentley and Paynter calmly sidestepped around Royce before tapping into an empty net to stretch Town's lead even further for his 5th goal in 2 matches at the County Ground. The chant of 'we want six' echoed out around the jubilant County Ground with the Robins faithful enjoying the rout occurring on the pitch.
Paynter rounds the keeper for his second goal
Paul Sturrock introduced Kaid Mohamed in place of Christian Roberts shortly afterwards possibly in preparation for the Johnstones Paint Trophy match against Cheltenham.
Paynter was now going all out for his second hat trick in succession and elected to shoot instead of passing to the unmarked Cox but his effort flew wide. Simon Cox was then denied his hat trick by a fingertip save by Royce in added time and there was still time for Paynter to charge through in attack but his effort was pushed wide by Royce again and the ball only just avoided Cox by inches.
The final whistle was greeted with a tremendous roar by the home crowd as Swindon Town went nap against a Gillingham side which had enjoyed some good recent form.
Paul Sturrock's team now move on to 16 points from 10 games and will go into next Tuesday's home Johnstone's Paint Trophy clash against Cheltenham encouraged by the superb performance today in which they restricted their Kent opponents to few opportunities and in truth could have reached double figures and another plus point was the first clean sheet kept by Phil Smith this season.
Full Time: Swindon Town 5 Gillingham 0
STFC SUPPORTERS MAN OF THE MATCH: J-P MCGOVERN
TOWN'S YOUTH TEAM MADE IT A SUCCESSFUL DAY ALL ROUND AS THEY REGISTERED A 2-1 WIN OVER SOUTHEND UNITED. GOALS FROM JAMIE TAYLOR AND KURT HAMMOND SECURED THE VICTORY FOR DAVE BYRNE'S SIDE.
