BIG MATCH PREVIEW: Swindon Town v Colchester United

All You Need To Know Ahead Of Saturday

24 September 2021

Swindon Town will be looking to put in a strong performance at home when they take on Colchester United on Saturday.

The Reds entertain the U's at The County Ground tomorrow - 3pm Kick-Off - and Ben Garner's team are coming into this encounter off the back of a pleasing point away at Northampton Town last weekend.

Town have been stronger away from home than they have been at SN1 so far, but they will be looking to put that right tomorrow having produced a number of encouraging displays at home this year.

Colchester, meanwhile, are unbeaten away from home in the league this season but they will be without Head Coach Hayden Mullins for tomorrow's game, who tested positive for COVID-19.

Here's everything you need to know ahead of the game...

LAST TIME WE MET

A goal from Daillang Jaiyesimi wasn't enough to help Town avoid a 3-1 defeat away at Colchester the last time these two teams met on January 28 2020, with former Town men Luke Norris and Theo Robinson grabbing the goals for the U's.

LAST FIVE

Season / Date	Competition	Result	Town Scorers
2019-20 - 28 Jan (A)	Sky Bet League Two	3-1	Jaiyesimi
2019-20 - 17 Sep (H)	Sky Bet League Two	0-3
2019-20 - 13 Aug (A)	Carabao Cup	3-0
2018-19 - 2 Mar (H)	Sky Bet League Two	3-0	Carroll, Woolfenden, Bennett
2018-19 - 3 Nov (A)	Sky Bet League Two	1-0

FULL RECORD V COLCHESTER

P	W	D	L	GF	GA
85	32	19	34	113	111

TICKET NEWS

Town fans can buy tickets online right now and up until half-time by clicking here.

Tickets will be on sale from the ticket windows at The County Ground until 1pm on Saturday, but we urge all fans to buy their tickets early to avoid queues.

TEAM NEWS

Town will be able to boast a clean bill of health on Saturday with Anthony Grant available again after isolating in the wake of being away on International Duty, while Rob Hunt will also be available after missing Northampton last weekend for the birth of his baby girl.

Harry McKirdy, Jordan Lyden and Mathieu Baudry could also be in contention to feature after recovering from respective injuries.

For Colchester, they will be without Head Coach Hayden Mullins who tested positive for COVID-19, while Miles Welch-Hayes is doubtful for tomorrow's game.

A WORD FROM BOTH CAMPS:

Ben Garner, Swindon Town Head Coach: "They've got really good away form and they are unbeaten away with two wins and two draws.

"They seem to have done better points wise away from home, not necessarily performance wise, but they are a good team.

"There is a lot of experience in the team

"If you look at the players within the squad, some of them have played Championship and above and have been successful doing so.

"There is a lot of know-how in their squad but they've got a lot of talented young players in there as well, so they have a nice mix.

"As I said, their away form has been good and we know that we need to play well tomorrow in order to win the game."

Alex Dyer, Colchester United Assistant Coach: "Away from home we've been good. It's the home team that's generally on the front foot and you can counter attack them a bit, but saying that we still create a lot of chances.

"We're looking forward to the weekend now. We've put last weekend to bed and we are ready to go.

"There's enough experience in the team, and we will get there - we've just got to keep doing the right things. It's just getting that little bit of luck, and it will come.

"We know Swindon will be a tough team, but the boys are mentally and physically ready for them. They have good players in their side, and a manager who has been around and has good knowhow.

"It will be a good game, they are a team that likes to play. We have to match that and make sure we impose ourselves on the game. We want our players to go out there and express themselves and it should be an open game."

Tommy Smith Action 2021.JPG

ONE TO WATCH

Colchester Captain Tommy Smith is as experienced and as battle-hardened as they come, and the no-nonsense centre-back will look to lead by example by frustrating Town's forward players on Saturday. Smith can also be a threat at the other end, and he'll be one to watch on Saturday.

ELSEWHERE IN SKY BET LEAGUE TWO:

Barrow v Newport County (tonight, 7:45pm)

Crawley Town v Bradford City (3pm)

Forest Green Rovers v Tranmere Rovers (3pm)

Harrogate Town v Stevenage (3pm)

Hartlepool United v Exeter City (3pm)

Leyton Orient v Mansfield Town (3pm)

Rochdale v Oldham Athletic (3pm)

Salford City v Northampton Town (3pm)

Scunthorpe United v Port Vale (3pm)

Sutton United v Carlisle United (3pm)

Walsall v Bristol Rovers (3pm)

OFFICIALS

Referee - Andrew Kitchen

Assistant Referee - Marc Wilson

Assistant Referee - Ryan Whitaker

Fourth Official - Louis Marks

FOLLOW THE ACTION LIVE

Can’t make it to The County Ground on Saturday? 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 Reports

MATCH REPORT: Swindon Town 0-0 Colchester United

Reds get a point at SN1

25 September 2021

Swindon Town were forced to settle for a point after playing out a 0-0 draw with Colchester United at The County Ground this afternoon.

Both teams had chances in the first-half with Ellis Iandolo and Jack Payne going close for the Reds, while Jojo Wollacott had to be sharp at the other end of the pitch.

Tyreece Simpson was unlucky not to score with a bullet header late in the second-half, with the game ending in a scoreless draw.

Town Head Coach Ben Garner made just the one change to his Starting XI as Ben Gladwin replaced Jonny Williams, with the Welsh International missing out.

Rob Hunt, who missed the draw away at Northampton the week before for the birth of his child, was back in the matchday squad, as was Mathieu Baudry who was missing with injury since early August.

It was a lively opening few minutes as Jojo Wollacott cut out a dangerous-looking cross before gathering at the second attempt, while the Town goalkeeper was able to deal with a Frank Nouble shot moments later.

Ben Gladwin fired a sublime ball behind the Colchester defence which Tyreece Simpson ran on to, but his progress was stopped after the whistle was blown with a visiting defender going down under pressure.

Town carved out the best chance of the game so far around the 20-minute mark as Ellis Iandolo cut in before unleashing a curling effort from distance, which was punched over the crossbar by Shamal George with Kaine Kesler-Hayden blasting over from the resulting corner.

Simpson and Payne played a nice one-two which set the latter clean through on goal, but Payne's effort was blocked by the onrushing George with the visitors eventually clearing the danger.

Cameron Coxe's pinpoint cross just missed Freddie Sears inside the box at the other end, before Alex Gilbert started a flowing move and then ended it, getting the ball back inside the area and firing a low shot towards goal which was smothered by George.

There wasn't a lot of action to digest, but both teams were having good looks with Romoney Crichlow producing a superb bit of defending to stop a dangerous-looking attack, while Gilbert again threatened as he worked his way inside the area before firing a shot over from a tight angle.

With time ticking away in the first-half, the search for the first goal of the game continued as Freddie Sears had his initial shot blocked, before Alan Judge could only hit the Alan McLoughlin Town End with the follow-up.

Town then had the best chance of the half as Iandolo once again poured forward before stinging the palms of George with a fierce effort which was tipped wide, before Wollacott managed to push away a tricky shot from Judge to end the half.

HALF-TIME: SWINDON TOWN 0-0 COLCHESTER UNITED

There was a quiet start to the second-half and, although the U's did have the ball in the back of the net, their celebrations were cut short with the whistle blown for handball.

The game began to open up a little bit as Town looked for the opener with Gilbert dragging a shot wide, before firing over after Kesler-Hayden had slipped inside the box at the wrong time.

Things then settled down again as both teams did a good job of frustrating each other and restricting chances, with the game evenly poised heading into the final 20 minutes or so.

Crichlow advanced up the pitch looking for options but, with none available, he decided to go for goal although his effort flew wide.

Town carved out a golden opportunity in the final 15 as Kesler-Hayden whipped in a brilliant cross right on to the head of Simpson, but the No. 9's header went inches over the bar.

Colchester went close to bagging the winner themselves as they won the ball back in a dangerous area, leading to Tommy Smith to whack a well-struck shot inches over the bar.

The Reds decided to add some fresh legs in the final 10 minutes as Jayden Mitchell-Lawson replaced Gilbert, before the U's nearly won the game at the death as Charlie Daniels forced a smart stop from Wollacott.

Town had one more chance right at the end as Simpson pumped in a cross that was headed over by Payne, and that was it with both sides having to settle for a share of the spoils.

FINAL SCORE: SWINDON TOWN 0-0 COLCHESTER UNITED

TEAMS AND STATS

SWINDON TOWN - Wollacott; Odimayo, Iandolo, Conroy (C), Crichlow, Gladwin, Simpson, Payne, Gilbert (Jayden Mitchell-Lawson 82), Kesler-Hayden, Reed.

SUBS NOT USED - Ward, Baudry, Hunt, East, Parsons, Dabre.

BOOKED - Dion Conroy.

COLCHESTER UNITED - George; Chambers, Smith (C), Wiredu (Noah Chilvers 88), Hannant (Sylvester Jasper 65), Skuse, Nouble, Judge, Sears (Armando Dobra 86), Daniels, Coxe.

SUBS NOT USED - Turner, Clampin, Eastman, Tovide.

Referee - Andrew Kitchen

Attendance - 8,436.

Ticket News

Come & Back The Boys Against Colchester!

Get your match tickets now!

20 September 2021

The boys are back in town this Saturday when Swindon Town take on Colchester United at The County Ground.

The Reds are in EFL Sky Bet League Action at SN1 on Saturday, and we want to see a packed County Ground as Ben Garner's team look to maintain their positive start to the new season

Tickets can be bought online right now by visiting our online ticketing site.

Ticket prices for this Saturday's game can be found below:

PRICES

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