Crewe Alexandra - 2 (Moore '30, '41)
Town were beaten 2-1 at Crewe Alexandra after Raffaele De Vita had given them a first half lead.
Having fallen behind, two strikes before the break from Byron Moore handed the home side all three points at the Alexandra Stadium
Paolo Di Canio rang the changes once again for the trip to the Alexandra Stadium with no less than five different players in the starting line-up.
In a first half that failed to capture the imagination, Town were ahead after 25 minutes. Tommy Miller’s free kick from a position on the left flank was swung across for the waiting blue shirts. Raffa De Vita had peeled off towards the near post and he met the cross with a glancing header that travelled across goal and nestled in the far corner.
The lead lasted just six minutes. After an attack had broken down in midfield, Town were caught out at the back allowing a ball to come all the way across the six yard box where Byron Moore was on hand to slide home the equaliser.
Foderingham then had to be alert to twice deny Chucks Aneke with goal-bound headers before the home side took the lead with four minutes of the first half to play. A ball into the left hand channel found Moore in space. He was allowed to advance into the box and lift the ball over the advancing Foderingham.
In injury time, a ball into the box dropped at the feet of Collins who saw his shot brilliantly blocked by a defender who had thrown himself in front of the ball.
Swindon began the second forty-five with a renewed vigour and started creating chances more frequently. Gary Roberts was denied from close range while Joe Devera dragged wide and substitute Matt Ritchie could not keep his header down.
Ritchie had another effort that trickled narrowly wide and Troy Archibald-Henville headed over from a corner. Town continued to press for an equaliser. Collins could only fire straight at Martin before one moment minutes before the whistle seemed to sum up Town’s fortunes. After a period of pressure, the ball was worked to the right side of the box and driven across the face of goal. Evading a number of red and blue shirts, McEveley was on hand to make contact with the ball but allowed it to slip through his legs and harmlessly out of play.
Town: Wes Foderingham, Joe Devera, Alan McCormack (C), Troy Archibald-Henville, Jay McEveley, Raffaele De Vita, Tommy Miller, Simon Ferry, Gary Roberts, James Collins, Adam Rooney
Substitutes: Leigh Bedwell, John Bostock, Darren Ward, Matt Ritchie, Aaron Oakley, Louis Thompson, Miles Storey
Crewe: Alan Martin, Matt Tootle, Harry Davis, Mark Ellis, Luke Murphy (C), Mathias Pogba, Byron Moore, Kelvin Mellor, Abdul Osman, Michael West, Chuks Aneke
Substitutes: Steve Phillips, Adam Dugdale, Oliver Turton, Gregor Robertson, Jon Guthrie, Brendon Daniels, Harry Clayton
