Mark Kennedy was pleased by his Swindon Town side’s performance after securing a point on the road against Tranmere Rovers.
The Robins were beaten on Saturday by Port Vale and despite a late goal from Will Wright, could not overturn the Staffordshire side’s advantage. Town showed a different side to their game at Prenton Park, overcoming an early Kristian Dennis goal through an own goal from Chris Merrie to secure a point for their troubles.
Reflecting on the performance to the Swindon Advertiser, Kennedy said: “I thought that it was very positive for a number of reasons, clearly you are disappointed to go 1-0 down in any game because it gives you a mountain to climb.
“I was really pleased to come back from that and I thought we deserved at least a point and I will take a point as it is important that you pick up points on the road and you have got to win your home games.
“The big thing for me was the performance and reaction from Port Vale with all the things we talk about.
“I thought we started the game really well and going 1-0 down knocked us and then the character we showed was really good.
“I thought we came out and dominated the second half with chances, and good chances at that, on another night we could have won 3 or 4-1.”
A point does help to extend their gap over the bottom two in the fourth tier, with Accrington Stanley losing and Morecambe drawing. They face Harrogate Town on the weekend, who will be looking for responses to their 5-1 hammering at the hands of MK Dons.
Swindon are now eight games without a win on the road, the run extending from their win over Barrow at the start of April. The following week does offer some respite for the Wiltshire side, playing both The Sulphurites and Bristol Rovers at The County Ground.
A big decision was made before the first whistle was blown, with Kennedy opting for a change of goalkeeper. Dan Barden, on loan from Norwich City, was handed his first league appearance and second start overall, instead of regular first-choice Jack Bycroft.
Kennedy explained the decision to start the 23-year-old, adding: “I think as a head coach you have to make big decisions and you have to make tough decisions.
“I think that Jack has had a very solid start to the season and has made some very big saves, technically with his feet he has been huge for us in build-up.
“I think Jack can feel really hard done by and he should be sat on the bench disappointed and I know that he is.
“He is a huge credit to the club and has a huge future but you have to make decisions and I think Dan’s performances in training have said ‘Can you please have a look at me?’
“I just thought that a change was good tonight for both parties but Jack has a huge future at this club.”
Writer’s View
Swindon Town showed themselves in a much better light last night and were perhaps unlucky not to secure a second league win this season. They did have a great result against Newport County but then struggled at Carlisle United and Port Vale. Whilst not a maximum return, Mark Kennedy will be rightly happy with what his side demonstrated and will hope they can continue that against a Harrogate team that will be down in the dumps after a heavy loss.
The Robins have a mixed bag in terms of their upcoming fixture list. There are certainly many points to be won with games against Salford City and an in-turmoil Cheltenham Town coming up but do face League Two leaders Gillingham at the end of the month. There is also the rest of their EFL Trophy group to navigate, but unless they find a result against Bristol Rovers on Tuesday their chances in the competition are essentially dead. Kennedy will hope that they can finally get some wins on the board and keep well clear of the bottom two sides.
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