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Swindon Town 1-1 Harrogate Town

Swindon pick up a point against Harrogate at The County Ground on Saturday

2 March 2024

Match Reports

Swindon Town 1-1 Harrogate Town

Swindon pick up a point against Harrogate at The County Ground on Saturday

2 March 2024

A late Charlie Austin header saw Swindon equalise late on to draw 1-1 with Harrogate Town at The County Ground on Saturday afternoon.

Anthony O'Connor opened the scoring with a goal from a set-piece for the away side in the 52nd minute before Charlie Austin came off the bench to score his 50th league goal for Swindon Town late on in the second half.

Town made four changes to the side which overcame Tranmere on Tuesday night with Harry McKirdy given his first start since returning in January, Williams Kokolo coming back on the left-hand side of defence, and Saidou Khan and Aaron Drinan also given the chance to impress from the start.
 
It was an even first half, with both sides creating half chances across the 45, but Swindon will feel they could've been ahead following the nearly moments they created.
 
The first of these came in the 15th minute, with Williams Kokolo and Sean McGurk combining before the latter looped in a cross that saw Aaron Drinan look to head goalwards, but unfortunately saw his glancing effort go just wide of the far post.
 
Nine minutes later, Town had another chance with Ricky Aguiar and Aaron Drinan combining to allow Drinan to shoot from the edge of the box but saw his effort arrow just wide of the right post as Swindon continued to push.
 
With the first half drawing to a close, Aguiar again provided an opportunity by finding Conor McCarthy from a corner, but unfortunately saw his header go just wide of the near post.
 
One final chance came just two minutes before the break with midfielder Saidou Khan seeing an effort blocked inside the Harrogate penalty area before Harrogate keeper James Belshaw eventually claimed the ball and ended what was a promising spell of Swindon pressure and a first half that left both sides looking for the game's opening goal.
 
Half-time: Swindon 0 Harrogate 0
 

Unfortunately, it would be Harrogate who would take the advantage early in the second half, with defender Anthony O'Connor climbing highest from a set-piece to give his side the lead.

Gavin Gunning and Swindon looked to respond and brought in an immediate switch, with skipper Charlie Austin introduced in place of Sean McGurk as Town had just over half an hour to look for their equaliser.

Dawson Devoy saw a dangerous free-kick blocked in the 56th minute after an impressive run towards goal by second-half substitute Rushian Hepburn-Murphy, with Town continuing to push late on.

Paul Glatzel saw another effort cleared off the line after a strong run down the right-hand side by Udoka Godwin-Malife saw the ball fall kindly to the forward, who got his effort on target but a Harrogate defender was frustratingly well positioned to clear his goal-bound strike off the away side's goal line.

Another chance came in the 76th minute when the ball almost spun into the back of the Harrogate goal after a drive froward from Williams Kokolo before more opportunities came five minutes later with Devoy and Austin saw efforts blocked inside the Harrogate penalty area before the referee gave no penalty despite Aaron Drinan's claims with just under 10 minutes left to play.

Finally, Town had their equaliser and it was through Charlie Austin that Swindon got themselves back on level terms, with a well-taken header bringing his side back in it with a few minutes left to play.

After a strong run from second-half substitute Zach Elbouzedi, the wide man clipped the ball into the area and left Austin able to climb highest and thump home a header into the corner to give him his 50th league goal for Swindon and his 199th of his professional career.

Despite Swindon finding a bit of momentum after this goal, they were not able to carve out another late chance to get them in front, with both sides coming away from the game with a point each and Town picking up four points in two home games this week.

Following this result, Swindon now looks to next week's away trip to Mansfield as they look to build on this week's results and finish the 23/24 season positively.

 

Swindon Town: Bycroft, Blake-Tracy (C), Khan (McEachran 73), McKirdy (Hepburn-Murphy 45), McGurk, Kokolo, Devoy, Godwin-Malife (Elbouzedi 77), Drinan, McCarthy, Aguiar (Glatzel 45)
Goal: Austin 86
Subs not used: Brann, Brewitt
 
Harrogate Town: Belshaw, Burrell (C), Thomson, Cornelius, Odoh (March 88), Daly (Sutton 85), O'Connor, Muldoon (Bloxham 88), Dooley, Foulds, Gibson (Mattock 45)
Goal: O'Connor 52
Subs not used: Oxley, Abu, Falkingham
 
Referee: Leigh Doughty
 
Attendance: 7,687 (93 away fans)

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