Swindon Town

Nile Ranger opened the scoring and Massimo Luongo also found the net before Mason’s treble took centre stage.

Mark Cooper made two changes to the starting line up. In came Jay McEveley to replace Alex Smith while Ryan Mason replaced Ryan Harley, with the latter dropping to the bench in place of the former. 

The opening half hour was a patient affair from both sides with little in the way of goalmouth action. Alex Pritchard and Ryan Mason had the only efforts of note, firing over and into a crowd of players respectively. 

Jay McEveley had to be alert to block a goal-bound shot before Town took the lead. Kasim slid a ball into the path of Nile Ranger who steadied himself before sidefooting his shot beyond Alan Martin.

Town doubled their lead before the break through Massimo Luongo. From a position on the left flank, the midfielder clipped a ball into the box which looped over the goalkeeper before striking the post and nestling in the back of the net. 

At the start of the second half, Town made it 3-0. Kasim was once again the architect, finding the run of Ryan Mason, who fired across goal and into the far corner of the net. 

Less than 10 minutes later it was 4-0. Nile Ranger managed to wriggle free of his mark and get a toe onto the loose ball before being brought down by Martin. Mason took responsibility from the spot, planting the ball into the left-hand corner.

With 20 minutes to play, Swindon completed the scoring through Mason. After a period of passing, Pritchard fizzed a cross into a crowded six yard box where Mason got the crucial touch to send the ball into the far corner. 

Even with five goals on the scoreboard, Swindon continued to press. Ryan Harley’s vicious effort appeared to move in the area with Martin doing well to paw it safety before Nathan Thompson picked out Jay McEveley arriving at the far post only for the full back to head wide.

In stoppage time, Ranger was again fouled in the box and the referee pointed for Town’s second spot kick of the afternoon. Mason was again the man who stepped up but, after going the same way as he did for the first penalty, saw his effort beaten away by the goalkeeper.