Joel Cotterill’s strike fired Swindon Town to a memorable 1-0 victory on the road against table-toppers Walsall at the Poundland Bescot Stadium.
Both sides battled hard in the opening 45 minutes and that created a frenetic encounter in which neither was able to create many obvious openings.
In a very tight contest, it came down to who took the moment when it arrived and the Welsh Under-21 international lashed home when opportunity knocked.
This is just the second time this season that Swindon have been able to defeat one of the division’s current top ten and makes it three wins in four on the road.
Ian Holloway made just one change to the side which had defeated Chesterfield last weekend as Tom Nichols came back in to play attacking midfield ahead of Jake Cain. Whilst Ryan Delaney was back fit and made the journey to the Midlands, he was not included in the matchday 18.
Having received a very complimentary overview from Holloway in his pre-match press conference, Walsall demonstrated what made them such an effective League Two side early on. They were battling hard all over the pitch and making Swindon uncomfortable.
The Saddlers were looking to target Miguel Freckleton with high balls into the channel but beyond throw-ins were finding clear chances more difficult.
After 19 minutes, Will Wright clipped a free kick from his own half over the Walsall back line and into the left half space. Harry Smith motored after it and let fly a dipping half volley that got over Tommy Simkin but didn’t quite find the dip.
Two minutes later Joel McGregor’s roll of Liam Gordon got him down the side of the penalty area before his low cross was stabbed away. Swindon latched onto the ball, not quite able to find space for a clear shot before Joel Cotterill’s effort was charged down.
The main home threat came from set pieces where Connor Ripley had to be assertive to prevent danger. Around the half hour mark, Taylor Allen hit a flat delivery into the near post where Oisin McEntee got a flick only for Town’s goalkeeper reacted quickly and beat it off the line.
Swindon could cause trouble of their own from set pieces, a first corner was punched to the edge of the box for Cotterill to have a shot deflected behind. The resulting corner was clipped straight to the top of the box and although Tom Nichols caught it flush, he just couldn’t quite pick out the top corner.
It was an opening 45 minutes full of endeavour from both ends just without either truly able to stamp their authority on it. Play swung like a metronome from one side to the other, but neither fashioned an opening you could really chastise them for not taking.
In the final throws, the ball sat up nicely for Ryan Stirk from the edge of the box and he drilled an effort just wide of the near post. Then as stoppage time began, Gavin Kilkenny cut through the middle of Walsall and chipped a pass over the back line. Cotterill ran onto it, chested it down and as he prepared to shoot, David Okagbue hurried across and stuck a foot in.
In a more exciting rendition of last week’s game, it was coming down to who took the big moments better. Allen hurled a long throw in from the right which got flicked onto the chest of Jamille Matt. He knocked it high enough into the air to attempt a bicycle kick which flashed wide.
With 60 minutes on the clock, Cotterill stepped inside and curled a ball into Kabongo Tshimanga. He held off a defender and got a shot off that was blocked. The ball then bobbled and the toe of Tshimanga guided it back to Cotterill to blast high into the net.
Swindon were looking increasingly dangerous on the break and a liquid move had Nichols spray a pass out for Tshimanga to run in behind. He held the ball up well but had the crossing opportunity blocked, so stepped inside and fired at the near post only for Simkin to palm it behind.
But Walsall were able to restock their forward line and kept finding ways in down the side. After another run from Liam Gordon, the ball came for Albert Adomah and he bounced a shot in front of Ripley from outside the box but the goalkeeper was not to be beaten like that.
A yellow card meant Swindon had to manage the final ten minutes without the leadership of Ollie Clarke. The hosts posed plenty of stern questions, with Adomah and Allen having efforts that needed to be blocked. But Swindon were happy to grind and were rewarded with a massive win in front of the huge away support.
WFC starting XI: Simkin, C. Barrett, L, Gordon, McEntee, Matt, Comley, Allen, Jellis, Harrison, Stirk, Okagbue.
WFC substitutes: Hornby, Lakin, Amantchi, Williams, Weir, Adomah, Johnson.
STFC starting XI: Ripley, Wright, Ofoborh, Cotterill, Clarke, Smith, Nichols, Kilkenny, Freckleton, Tshimanga, McGregor.
STFC substitutes: Bycroft, Sobowale, Glatzel, Cain, Butterworth, Westley, Ameen.
Attendance: 6,910.
