Swindon earned back-to-back wins for the first time this season with goals by ex-Bolton duo Ricky Shakes and Charlie Comyn-Platt earning maximum points writes STFC Sports Reporter Adrian Smith
Aaron Brown's perseverance saw Town awarded a free-kick early in the match when he was tugged back by a defender on the angle of the goal area but Jamie Cureton's cross evaded all his fellow Robins players and the ball was cleared.
Swindon's bright start continued with a corner in the 6th minute when Graeme Lee cleared the ball under pressure from Lee Peacock from a cross by Ricky Shakes but the resulting cross was cleared.
Andy Nicholas launched one of his trademark long throws which put the visitors defence under pressure again but no Town player was able to get a clear shot on goal in the 8th minute.
Lee Peacock spurned a good chance one minute later when he found himself on the angle of the 6 yard box but his weak effort was easily smothered by Rovers keeper Alan Blayney.
Paul Smith also added to Town's attacking play when he launched a fierce volley from the edge of the area after some hesitant defending by the visitors but the ball went wide of the left hand upright.
Swindon were awarded a free-kick in the 11th minute for pushing on the right wing and Jack Smith combined well with Ricky Shakes who fired in a dangerous looking cross which Blayney gathered from under his crossbar.
Doncaster's first serious attack in the 15th minute saw Jack Smith make a timely intervention as the visitors threatened and Smith did well to nip the ball away from Michael McIndoe at the expense of a corner.The Town defence were able to clear the danger after the ball had been headed goalwards by Anthony Griffiths but Jerel Ifil cleared upfield.
The game had become a bit scrappy but Town were awarded two free-kicks in the space of a minute in the visitors half but that came to nothing with the visiting defence able to clear without too much difficulty.
Town were awarded a slightly debatable corner by the assistant referee who was a good 15 yards behind play but the referee awarded a free-kick allegedly for pushing from the cross in the 28th minute.
Jamie Cureton earned Town another corner shortly afterwards and that was taken by Aaron Brown. The Rovers keeper Blayney elected to punch the resulting cross but the ball struck another player in front of goal and rebounded to Ricky Shakes and he gleefully headed home for his first goal in Town colours to give Swindon a 29th minute lead.
Mark Albrighton was the first player to be cautioned for a late challenge on Peacock in the 37th minute and having previously been warned by the referee P Melin, the Rovers player can have no complaints.
In the 39th minute Aaron Brown earned another corner for Town following some determined running down the left wing but Blayney ignored the Town End chants of 'dodgy keeper' to gather the ball cleanly from the cross by Cureton.
Lee Peacock was harshly penalised for an attempted tackle which he pulled out of but the referee considered his studs to have been too high and the visitors launched a long ball forward which eventually resulted in a corner.The Town defence cleared the initial danger before former Bristol City player Paul Heffernan fired in a shot which went high and wide much to the amusement of the home fans.
Rhys Evans decided to warm himself up on a chilly afternoon by racing out of his area to clear a dangerous looking ball forward and the Town stopper cleared the ball deep into the visitors half of the field.
Rovers threatened in the two minutes of added time before Paul Smith sent Ricky Shakes clear with a weighted pass down the right wing. He tricked his way into the penalty area before sending in a cross which struck the hand of Anthony Griffiths but the referee ignored claims for a penalty and awarded a corner instead.Jamie Cureton sent in a good cross which was met full on by the head of Lee Peacock and his goalbound effort was brilliantly tipped over the bar by Blayney just before the half time whistle was blown.
The Town players left the field to a good round of applause in recognition of a superb first half which they had dominated and allowed the visitors few chances in attack.
Half Time: Swindon Town 1 Doncaster Rovers 0
Swindon started the half brightly with a good pass by Paul Smith to set up a 70 yard run by Ricky Shakes before he unleashed a powerful rising shot which flew well over the crossbar.
Shortly afterwards Jamie Cureton laid off the ball to Aaron Brown on the left wing and he raced 40 yards or so into the visitors area but his final delivery was disappointing andthe ball went behind the goal and into the empty Stratton Bank.
The visitors threatened when Paul Heffernan wriggled clear of the Town midfield and darted towards goal but he was unable to get any power in his low shot and Rhys Evans gathered easily.
Andy Nicholas conceded a free-kick for holding an opponent from a throw-in and the visitors eventually had a corner when a shot was deflected. Rhys Evans did well to catch the resulting cross under pressure and he unleashed a long ball down the pitch and Town were awarded a corner when Shakes's cross was deflected behind.
The resulting cross saw the defence clear the ball straight to Jack Smith and he unleashed a venomous low shot which had 'goal' written all over it before Blayney made a fantastic diving save to his right to push the ball wide for a corner.
Town doubled their lead in the 58th minute when a good ball by Ricky Shakes reached Jamie Cureton in the area and he cleverly flicked the ball with his heel to Charlie Comyn-Platt who controlled the ball before firing in a low shot for his second goal of the season.
That proved to be Comyn-Platt's last contribution of the match because he was injured shortly afterwards and was unable to continue after treatment so he was replaced two minutes later by Andy Gurney.
Doncaster replaced Mark Albrighton with David Mulligan in the 62nd minute as they sought to reduce the arrears but the next major incident saw Graeme Lee cautioned for a foul just inside his own half.
Ross McCormack pulled a goal back for the visitors when he beat off the attention of three Town defenders to head home in the 64th minute from a cross by Jason Price. There was a minor scuffle in the Town area when the goalscorer clashed with Rhys Evans who was gathering the ball from the back of the net but the referee restored order quickly with no cards being shown.
Rhys Evans had to make a smart intervention from a long range free-kick by David Mulligan in the 69th minute and the Town keeper dived to his right to gather cleanly.
Swindon had a good attack in the 73rd minute when Shakes and Peacock combined on the edge of the visitors area but then there was a break down of communication and the ball was cleared.
Rovers replaced the goalscorer McCormack with Leo Fortune-West in the 77th minute but it was Town who went on the offensive when a loose ball by a Doncaster defender went straight to Cureton and his pass towards Peacock was cut out by a defensiveheader.
Andy Gurney fired in a useful looking shot from 25 yards in the 79th minute and the keeper Blayney did well to gather cleanly.
One minute later Lee Peacock left the field to a good ovation when he was replaced by Ashan Holgate. Shortly afterwards the ball was in the Town net with the visitors supporters cheering but the referee had already blown his whistle for offside. At the other end Jamie Cureton continued his tormenting of the visiting defence when he wriggled free from two defenders to send in a cross to the back post for Aaron Brown to send in a looping shot which went just wide.
Paul Green replaced Ricky Ravenhill in the 83rd minute as Doncaster manager Dave Penney reshuffled his team to try and gain an equaliser as the visitors seemed to grow in confidence.
Swindon were being forced back into their own half with a series of long balls towards the giant figure of Fortune-West but the Robins were not helping their own cause with some misplaced passes.
The 4th official indicated that three additional minutes would be played and Holgate was guilty of wasting valuable possession which allowed the visitors to charge forward in attack where they gained a corner in the last seconds. That was delayed while Andy Gurney was cautioned for protesting about the amount of time played but Town managed to hold on to register a superb victory.
This was the first time that Swindon have won back-to-back games this season and Iffy Onuora will have been pleased to register this victory against Doncaster who just happened to have been Town's opponents for Iffy's first game in charge in September 2005.
Full Time: Swindon Town 2 Doncaster Rovers 1
