Oxford - 1 (Potter '88)
TOWN tasted derby day defeat once again as a late strike took Oxford United through to the next round of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.
Alfie Potter’s goal three minutes from time gave the U’s a 1-0 win and dumped Town out of the competition at the first time of asking.
The manager made five changes to the side that had lost at Preston on Sunday. Paul Benson started in attack while there were debuts for four of the new signings. Federico Bessone, Darren Ward, Adam Rooney and Giles Coke all made the starting eleven.
The visitors made most of the early running while the predictably white hot atmosphere generated by both sets of supporters raged around them.
With eight minutes on the clock, Swindon created a chance with their first meaningful foray forward. Giles Coke changed the tempo with a quick one-two in midfield with Paul Benson. Running on to the return ball, he advanced into the area on the angle and blazed over from ten yards.
Town continued to create. Raffaele De Vita lashed over while Ward did likewise with a header from Coke’s centred free-kick.
Adam Rooney blazed over from a good position while at the other end, Adam Chapman fired a free kick narrowly over, as the two sides went in level at the break.
Town began the second half in the same vein: De Vita fired a shot straight at Clarke while Andy Williams created a chance all on his own but could not quite manage to pull the trigger at the vital moment. Sandwiched in-between, John-Paul Pittman skewed a drive wide.
Still the chances came and went for the visitors: Coke and substitute John Bostock both drilled wide from the edge of the area. Wes Foderingham had to tip over a long-range effort in an otherwise untroubled evening for the goalkeeper.
Then, with two minutes to go came the moment that won the game for the hosts. A ball forward was untidily cut out by Ward ahead of substitute Aden Flint. With his momentum still carrying him forward, Flint clattered into Ward with the pair ending up in a heap on the turf. The ball eventually squirted out to James Constable on the left - he looked up and laid the ball across for the unmarked Alfie Potter charging into the box. Potter came onto the pass and side-footed it home, hard and low beyond the spread-eagled Foderingham.
The late strike completely took the stuffing out of the hosts and the final whistle sent Town crashing out of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy at the hands of their local rivals.
Swindon return to League One action at the weekend and will look to put the result behind them when Leyton Orient are at The County Ground on Saturday.
Swindon: Wes Foderingham, Joe Devera, Alan McCormack (Capt), Darren Ward, Federico Bessone, Adam Rooney, Simon Ferry, Giles Coke, Raffaele De Vita, Paul Benson, Andy Williams
Substitutes: Tommy Miller, Aden Flint, Nathan Thompson, Miles Storey, John Bostock
Oxford: Clarke, Batt, Raynes, Wright (Capt), Chapman, Constable, Pittman, Capaldi, Forster-Caskey, Boateng, Craddock
Substitutes: McGinty, Potter, Brown, Marsh, Lynn
