BIG MATCH PREVIEW: Swindon Town v Tranmere Rovers

All you need to know ahead of tonight's game

17 August 2021

Swindon Town are back in action tonight when they take on Tranmere Rovers at The County Ground in the EFL Sky Bet League Two.

It is a quick turnaround for Ben Garner and his team as they look to return to winning ways following an unlucky loss at home to Carlisle United on Saturday, although Tranmere will pose a tough test at SN1 tonight.

Town were unfortunate not to come away with a point at the weekend given how well they played in the closing stages, but they can take confidence from their second-half display heading into tonight.

Tranmere are unbeaten to start the domestic campaign and, under Manager Micky Mellon, they boast an experienced side with some very talented players.

It should be an entertaining night at The County Ground as football under the lights return, and we've got you set for the big game with everything you need to know...

LAST TIME WE MET

Goals from veteran striker Marc Richards and midfielder Michael Doughty sealed a 2-1 victory for Town at Prenton Park on January 19th 2019.

LAST FIVE

Season / Date	Competition	Result	Town Scorers
2018-19 - 19th Jan (A)	Sky Bet League Two	1-2	Richards, Doughty
2018-19 - 18th Aug (H)	Sky Bet League Two	3-2	Adebayo, Richards, Romanski
2013-14 - 25 Mar (A)	Sky Bet League One	1-2	A. Smith, Storey
2013-14 - 5 Oct (H)	Sky Bet League One	1-0	N'Guessan
2012-13 - 13 Feb (A)	Sky Bet League One	3-1	Collins, Roberts (2)

FULL RECORD V TRANMERE

P	W	D	L	GF	GA
68	31	16	21	107	84

TICKET NEWS

Town fans can buy tickets in person at The County Ground until 7pm, or you can buy online until half-time.

Prices can be found below:

Category	Price
Adult	£23
Over 65	£17
Student	£17
U22	£10
U18	£6
U11	£1

FANS' GUIDE

For important information on car parking and Season Ticket cards, please have a read of our Fans' Guide which you can do by clicking here.

TEAM NEWS

Kaine Kesler-Hayden will miss out for Town tonight after being sent-off during Saturday's game against Carlisle United, while both Jordan Lyden and Mathieu Baudry will miss out through injury although both are making good progress.

And the Reds will be hoping that Jonny Williams will feature after the Wales International signed on a free transfer last week.

For Tranmere, Chris Merrie is suspended, Callum MacDonald and Scott Davies are both absent and Elliott Nevitt (ankle) continues to be assessed.

A WORD FROM THE TOWN CAMP

Ben Garner, Swindon Town Head Coach: "They've had a good start and they are a very well-organised team.

"Micky (Mellon) is obviously a very experienced manager, he's had success at Tranmere with two promotions previously and there is a lot of experience in their team.

"They have a couple of lads I know well in Tom Davies who was very unfortunate and was injured for pretty much all of my time at Bristol Rovers, but he's done really well to come back, he had a strong spell at Barrow last season and has started the season really well for Tranmere, so I'm very pleased for him to see him doing that.

"And Callum McManaman I worked with at West Brom and he's a really, really talented player, but they've got great experience through their team.

'You look at Peter Clarke who is still playing at the level and doing very well, Jay Spearing who, for me, has always been a top, top footballer, Liam Feeney and others through that team, so we know they are going to be a really strong side.

"They have a lot of know-how in their team, a lot of good game management and we are looking forward to the game."

ONE TO WATCH:

Callum McManaman - Having once worked with Town Head Coach Ben Garner, McManaman boasts an impressive CV having played in the Premier League with Wigan Athletic and also winning the FA Cup during his time with the Latics.

McManaman is a very good player at League Two level, and he will be a threat tonight given his ability on the ball and eye for a pass.

ELSEWHERE IN LEAGUE TWO

Barrow v Exeter City (7:45pm)

Bradford City v Stevenage (7:45pm)

Bristol Rovers v Oldham Athletic (7:45pm)

Colchester United v Mansfield Town (7:45pm)

Crawley Town v Salford City (7:45pm)

Port Vale v Carlisle United (7:45pm)

Rochdale v Forest Green Rovers (7:45pm)

Walsall v Scunthorpe United (7:45pm)

OFFICIALS

Referee - John Busby

Assistant Referee - Mark Pottage

Assistant Referee - Nigel Lugg

Fourth Official - Sam Lewis

FOLLOW THE ACTION LIVE

Can’t make it to The County Ground tonight? Don’t panic because there are numerous ways to keep up to date with all the action.

Live updates will be available on our Twitter and Facebook pages, in addition to our Match Centre on the website, which can be found at the top of the home page on matchdays.

In the wake of the game, https://www.swindontownfc.co.uk/ will be the place to go with a full report, reaction and pictures available to view and read through shortly after the final whistle.

Match Previews

Match Reports

MATCH REPORT: Swindon Town 1-2 Carlisle United

Reds fall just short despite battling effort

14 August 2021

Swindon Town couldn't mark the first home game of the 2021-22 season with a win after falling just short in a 2-1 defeat to Carlisle United this afternoon.

Despite producing a battling performance, the Reds were unable to muster up three points in-front of a bumper crowd at The County Ground as the visitors sneaked away with a win.

Town got off to a slow start in the first-half and they were punished as Joe Riley beat Jojo Wollacott with an impressive long-range effort.

Respond the Reds did, however, and they drew level thanks to Romoney Crichlow's first goal for the club, although United did have the lead at the break after Tristan Abrahams finished from close-range.

Town put up a much better showing in the second-half and they piled on the pressure in the closing stages of the game, but they were just unable to find an equaliser as they fell to defeat for the first time in the EFL Sky Bet League Two this season.

Head Coach Ben Garner named a strong Starting XI for the visit of the Cumbrians, although new addition Jonny Williams signed past the registration deadline so was unable to feature.

With a packed County Ground creating an electric atmosphere, Town got off to a positive start as Tyreece Simpson sent a header over from a Kaine Kesler-Hayden cross, before Harry McKirdy dragged a shot wide as he looked to hit the target against his former team.

Carlisle hit back though as Jojo Wollacott had to make a superb stop to deny Tristan Abrahams, but Wollacott was powerless as Joe Riley unleashed a great strike from 23-yards out that flew into the corner to give United the lead.

Town had a couple of decisions go against them while Carlisle felt they should have had a penalty after Brennan Dickenson went down inside the box, but nothing was given.

And, with 30 minutes played, the Reds hit back thanks to a brilliantly worked set-piece with Louis Reed floating a free-kick inside the box, Dion Conroy sent a beautiful header back across goal and Romoney Crichlow was on hand to bury the ball in the net for his first Town goal.

Carlisle responded as Riley tried his luck again but his strike was easy enough for Wollacott to deal with, before Ben Gladwin tested Magnus Norman with a powerful strike from distance.

Town looked to be in a good place heading in at the break but, as was the case for the majority of the first-half, they failed to deal with a long throw into the box as Riley's huge throw was flicked on by Rod McDonald and the ball fell to Jon Mellish who forced a sublime point-blank save by Wollacott, but Abrahams was on hand to slam home the rebound.

It was a crushing blow given how well the Robins did to claw their way back into the game, and Carlisle were doing a good job of preventing the hosts from playing their preferred brand of football.

HALF-TIME: SWINDON TOWN 1-2 CARLISLE UNITED

With a huge crowd cheering them on, Town were much better in the second-half although they survived an early scare after McDonald nodded wide from a corner for the visitors.

Jack Payne tried his luck for the Reds but his shot lacked any real power, while Kaine Kesler-Hayden was proving to be a real threat all afternoon as he was at the heart of everything good Town were doing and he had a couple of good chances early in the second-half.

Simpson was next to try his luck for the Reds as he cut in and tried his luck, but his shot took a deflection and it proved no trouble for Norman.

Ellis Iandolo came on to replace Rob Hunt at the hour mark and, despite taking a knock following a collision with Norman, the versatile utility man dusted himself off and proved to be a real spark for Town.

Kesler-Hayden sliced a shot wide following a brilliant piece of play by McKirdy, before youngster Harry Parsons came on to replace Ben Gladwin with 78 minutes played.

McKirdy fed in Payne who couldn't get his shot on target, and then Parsons came so close to drawing Town level as he forced Norman into a fine save with a cracking strike.

Town were really pressing and were fighting until the very end as they were giving everything they had, and they nearly got their just rewards in the final minutes after Kesler-Hayden sent a shot across goal that had beat Norman, but McKirdy could only slam the rebound into the side netting.

McKirdy then scuffed a shot wide before frustrations were compounded after the hugely-impressive Kesler-Hayden was harshly shown a second yellow card for taking down Manasse Mampala, and it brought a frustrating afternoon to a close for the Reds.

Despite suffering their first loss of the season in the league, however, it was a real gutsy display by Town as they responded well to adversity throughout and they were unlucky not to come away with a point.

FINAL SCORE: SWINDON TOWN 1-2 CARLISLE UNITED

TEAMS AND STATS

SWINDON TOWN - Wollacott; Conroy (C), Crichlow, Gladwin (Harry Parsons 78), Simpson, Payne, McKirdy, Kesler-Hayden, Hunt (Ellis Iandolo 60), Reed, Grant (Ricky Aguiar 90).

SUBS NOT USED - Ward, Odimayo, East, Dabre.

SCORERS - Romoney Crichlow (30)

BOOKED - Kaine Kesler-Hayden, Louis Reed

SENT-OFF - Kaine Kesler-Hayden

CARLISLE UNITED - Norman, Tanner, McDonald, Whelan, Armer, Riley, Guy (C), Mellish (Charters 90), Alessandra, Abrahams (Mampala 85), Dickenson (Feeney 73).

SUBS NOT USED - Jensen, Toure, Bell, Fishburn.

SCORERS - Joe Riley (15), Tristan Abrahams (44)

BOOKED - Brennan Dickenson, Magnus Norman

Referee - Carl Brook

Attendance - 9,450