Sky Bet League One

Oxford United 1

Swindon Town 2

SWINDON Town came from behind and ended 19 years without a league victory over Oxford United with a 2-1 win at the Kassam Stadium on Saturday, writes Peter Mitchell.

I can’t recall too many Oxford/ Swindon derbies that were football fests.

This latest one was no exception - but there was a difference. This will linger long in the memory for the remarkable last half hour.

In the first half Swindon lacked any bite up front, and when their few crosses fell into the box there was generally no one close to making any capital out of them.

Jordan Stevens showed off his pace but didn’t really provide the end product. Similarly with Joel Grant on the other flank.

Matt Smith almost made the difference with a couple of incisive passes that just failed to find their man.

Once again Paul Caddis was pushed into midfield - a position I've always thought he could do well in - but he blotted his copy book after only 15 minutes when a misjudged interception allowed Matty Taylor to break away and find the net.

For the rest of the first period it was only the hosts who really looked like scoring, and Town keeper Matej Kovar will have upped his confidence no end by making a number of excellent saves.

With Swindon needing to do something different to get anything out of the game, they made a double substitution on the hour mark.

Stevens gave way to fit again Diallang Jaiyesimi, and on came big central defender, Tom Broadbent.

We expected to see a reshuffled defence and midfield pushed more forward. But no! The Town coaching team had been thinking very much outside the box, and Broadbent immediately took up position as a dual striker with Tyler Smith!

This seemed to immediately unnerve and confuse Oxford. They lapsed into a totally negative defensive mode and allowed Swindon to come at them at will.

The visitors started to put together good penetrating moves and Broadbent was being very effective in putting himself about and being a danger in the air.

We began to think a point might be possible. Then, with only five minutes left, and Swindon pushing men into the box, the centre half turned centre forward hooked a cross shot over the line.

Swindon’s blood was up and they put everything into the last few minutes.

With injury time running out, Akinwale Odimayo lofted a high ball forward, Broadbent headed it towards the six yard box an somehow Tyler Smith helped it over the line. Jubilation.

After one of his performances last season I didn’t think Broadbent would figure again in a first team shirt, so I’m happy to say I was proved wrong – but in a most unexpected way.

True, Swindon had few options with no experienced striker to bring on to partner Tyler Smith, but whoever made the off-the-wall suggestion, found the elusive key to turn the game, and produced Town’s first win over their rivals for almost 20 years.

After a good performance against Lincoln, with nothing to show for it, this should be a big confidence boost for the whole squad.

Bring on Crewe next Tuesday, and it will be intriguing to see who is selected up front!

Watching a recent rerun of the 1986 World Cup match between England and Argentina I was reminded what an excellent commentator Barry Davies was, and how poor some of his modern-day counterparts are.

Nowadays they seem to fill their time, and ours, with spouting meaningless statistical twaddle and trivia, rather than concentrate on the matter in hand.

The match also highlighted a big change in the game over the 30 years.

Once the ball was played into the opponent’s half, it was almost NEVER played back into your own – and if it was, then it was met with a hail of abuse and cat calls from the side-lines.

Times have certainly changed.