Swindon Town got back to winning ways with a dominant 2-0 home victory against Bradford City on Saturday afternoon.
Charlie Austin scored from the spot just before the midway point of the first half, before home debutant Dawson Devoy scored his first goal for the club just before the half-time whistle blew.
Town saw the result through in the second half to ensure that Gavin Gunning's return in charge ensured a much-deserved three points.
Gunning made four changes to the side which faced Crewe last time out in the league, with Frazer Blake-Tracy, Jake Cain and Rushian Hepburn-Murphy returning to the starting XI, as latest addition Conor McCarthy linked up with Blake-Tracy in a refreshed back-four defensive line up.
Straight from the first whistle, Town were on it and an early corner from Cain forced Bradford back, with the away side able to just clear the danger in time before Town could take advantage.
In their second clear chance in less than five minutes, midfielder Saidou Khan tried his luck with an ambitious half-volley that whistled over the bar, with Swindon looking to continue on the front foot in the first half.
Just over 10 minutes later, Town had their best chance yet, with the impressive Paul Glatzel winning a penalty following a late challenge by the Bradford defender on the right-hand side of the Bantams' penalty areas, leaving skipper Charlie Austin to step up from 12 yards.
In a similar style to previous weeks, Austin stepped up to the occasion and smashed home the spot kick in the 17th minute, leaving Town in the ascendency and hoping to take advantage of their early lead in the game.
Following this opener, there was an initial attacking reaction from Bradford, but Town's new-look defence stepped up to the challenge in the first half, as keeper Jack Bycroft held on to a close-range header from Andy Cook in the 38th minute in what was their best chance to respond in the first half.
But Swindon weren't happy with their one-goal advantage and made the most of the three minutes of added time with midfielder Dawson Devoy scoring his first goal for the club just before half-time.
After more impressive work from Paul Glatzel, the forward skipped past one Bradford sliding challenge, before showing the composure to tee up the onrushing Devoy, who was able to slot home a powerful finish into the back of Sam Walker's net to round off a brilliant first half for Swindon going into the break.
Half-time: Swindon 2 Bradford 0
Bradford looked to their bench for an improved 45, with former Town loanee Jake Young introduced to the game in one of three changes, but Swindon were keen to take their additional week's coaching under Gavin Gunning to show their defensive resilience and ensure the clean sheet.
Town almost found themselves able to get a third just past the 55-minute mark, with an enticing cross from Dawson Devoy looking for Paul Glatzel at the back post, but with the forward seemingly held back by the Bradford defender, nothing was given by the referee and play continued despite the clear frustration and disappointment from Swindon players on the decision.
In the 71st minute, almost a moment to forget for Bradford's Sam Stubbs, with the defender almost turning a whipped cross into his own net and nearly giving Town a third in surprising circumstances.
Charlie Austin looked for his second of the game with an effort on the wide angle but unfortunately dragged wide in the 77th minute before BRadford's best chance was dealt with well by Jack Bycroft on his home debut four minutes later.
Former loanee Jake Young looked to half the deficit for his parent club four minutes later, with a powerful shot on the swivel for Bradford, but Bycroft was on hand to respond to the effort and palm the effort away with a strong right wrist.
After Swindon's defence kept firm and chances to a premium for Bradford across the 90 minutes, they will feel unfortunate to have seen a couple more late counter-attacks called back for offside with the opportunity for further late goals denied by the officials.
After achieving their first victory of 2024 and the first clean sheet since the Newport home fixture, Swindon will take a lot of spirit and confidence going forward into next weekend's midday away trip to the Exiles on Saturday.
Swindon Town: Bycroft, Blake-Tracy, Khan, Glatzel, Hepburn-Murphy (Shade 64), Cain (Dworzak 64), Kokolo (Johnson 55), Devoy (McEachran 83), Godwin-Malife, McCarthy, Austin (C) (Aguiar 83)
Goals: Austin 17 (P), Devoy 45+2
Subs not used: Evans, Minturn
Bradford City: Walker, Halliday, Ridehalgh (Richards 45), Taylor, Smallwood (C), Cook (Young 45), Gillead, Odour (Pointon 75), Smith (Chapman 45), Stubbs, Kelly (McDonald 69)
Subs not used: Doyle, Tomkinson
Referee: Geoff Eltringham
Attendance: 7,878 (461 away fans)
