Swindon Town

TOWN were beaten 2-0 by Aston Villa at the County Ground thanks to a goal in either half.

As they had done against Everton last time out at the CG, Town started brightly: Nathan Byrne sent a fizzing effort goalwards that Jed Steer could only spill his shot over the crossbar. One of Town’s trialists then fired over from a similar position.

Jon Obika did brilliantly to catch Micah Richards in possession and bear down on goal but could only skew wide when he pulled the trigger.

Belford also did well to get across his goal and hold onto Westwood’s free-kick before the hosts took the lead.

An unfortunate ricochet in the box as Town couldn’t clear their lines eventually fell at the feet of Gabby Agbonlahor. He calmly brought the ball down and slid in Scott Sinclair who rolled the ball into the corner.

Byrne also curled high and wide before the half time whistle.

At the start of the second half, Villa almost doubled their lead through Micah Richards. A cross into the box beat Belford but was met by the defender who sent the ball tumbling towards the empty goal. Much to his dismay, he picked himself up off the turf to watch the ball strike the foot of the post and get cleared to safety.

Having found the net against Petersfield the previous Saturday, Jon Obika was in the thick of the action once again. His trickery inside the area ended with a neat lay-off for the arriving Nathan Thompson but the Town skipper could only direct his side-footed effort wide of goal.

Towards the end of proceedings, with both sides having made a number of changes, the visitors struck the killer blow. One of Villa's substitutes profited from a mix-up at the back between two of Town's trialists to prod the ball into the empty net.