Swindon Town U18s fell to a frustrating 2-0 defeat to Forest Green Rovers at The Royal Agricultural College on Saturday afternoon.
A quiet but positive start for Town in the early stages of the first half, with a good spell of pressure nearly paying off, as a good set-piece routine found midfielder Jaxon Brown who was unfortunate not to convert his header in a threatening position.
Again, it would be Swindon with the best chance of the half so far, as George Alston found Dani Gonzalez, who again, saw a header saved well by the Forest Green goalkeeper.
However, it would be the away side who managed to find themselves with the next best chance with a chance to shoot at goal but, defender Sonny Hart made a fantastic goal-line clearance to keep Town from going one goal down.
Town was fortunate to see a Forest Green penalty blasted over the bar as they looked to respond to this pressure from Rovers going into the second half.
The home side dominated the latter stages of the first half as Swindon’s George Alston was unfortunate to not direct an effort goalwards, as the half-time whistle blew and the score goalless going into the break.
Half-time: Swindon Town U18s 0-0 Forest Green Rovers U18s
Winger Conor Britchford-Stanley had a good chance straight away in the second half, but his strike fell to the keeper’s hands and Town looked to continue in this threatening form.
However, after a long spell of possession, Forest Green hit Swindon with a sucker punch and would find themselves on the counter-attack and with the first goal of the game in the 70th minute.
There was still time in the game for a late consolation with Swindon getting themselves in dangerous positions however, they could not convert with the numerous chances they had late on in this game.
However, despite looking for that equalising goal, it would be the away side who extended their lead right on the 90th-minute mark to ensure the frustrating victory, leaving Sean Wood’s side disappointed with their latest result in the Youth Alliance League.
Following this result, Swindon Town U18s will look forward to Manchester United U18s in the Fourth Round of the FA Youth Cup tomorrow, with tickets available for the game here.
Swindon Town U18s: Evans (C), Hutt, Chard, Coles, Hart, Hunt (McCormick 61’), Britchford-Stanley (Obodo 63’), Brown (McGregor 45’), Ameen, Gonzalez (Stewart 31’), Alston.
