Swindon Town

TOWN earned a point in an entertaining 1-1 draw at promotion-chasing Walsall thanks to Michael Doughty’s second-half strike.

The midfielder gave Swindon the lead after the interval before the hosts’ Kieron Morris ensured both sides would share the points at the Banks’s Stadium.

Yaser Kasim was recalled to the starting XI in place of Ellis Iandolo, who dropped to the substitutes’ bench. Nicky Ajose and Jon Obika continued to lead the line after their respective returns to the line-up the previous Saturday against Bury.

The hosts were out of the blocks quickly and Milan Lalkovic glanced a header just wide after a cross was swung in from the Walsall right.

At the other end, Jon Obika lashed an effort wide before Michael Doughty craned his neck to reach Brad Barry’s cross but could only direct his header straight at Neil Etheridge in the Walsall goal.

Romaine Sawyers also drilled a loose, bouncing ball over the crossbar while Nicky Ajose fired narrowly wide after being teed up by Jon Obika. Obika would also test Etheridge before the half-time whistle and  just before the break, Doughty’s whipped cross was met by Ajose in the middle but the Town frontman could not adjust his body to address the ball in time and the cross cannoned off him and bounced wide.

The visitors spurned a glorious opportunity to open the scoring just five minutes after the interval when Jon Obika sprang forward on the counter-attack and cut the ball back for the arriving Michael Doughty. The on-loan QPR man took a touch to steady himself before side-footing wide of the far post.

The midfielder atoned just nine minutes later when he put the visitors in front. A shot deflected into his path just inside the box and he tucked the ball under the advancing Etheridge to nudge Town ahead.

The hosts struck the post before finding an equaliser with twenty minutes to play. Substitute, Kieron Morris found some space just inside the box before picking out the bottom corner.

With Walsall pushing for a winning goal, Town started to create opportunities on the counter-attack. Obika fired at Etheridge when well placed and Ajose followed suit in injury time as neither side could find a winner.