Boos echoed around the County Ground as Swindon Town played out a lacklustre 0-0 draw against Harrogate Town, witnessed by the lowest crowd of the season – just 6,333.
Swindon, struggling with only one win all season, failed to find the breakthrough against a similarly uninspired Harrogate side. However, Robins head coach Mark Kennedy came out fighting once again, much to the dismay of loyal fans.
The match saw few highlights, with Swindon looking more dangerous early on. Joel Cotterill came close to opening the scoring with a powerful shot from outside the box, forcing Harrogate goalkeeper James Belshaw into a full-stretch save.
Harrogate’s best chance in the first half came from Jack Muldoon, whose near-post header from a Matthew Foulds cross went wide. Swindon had their own near miss just before half-time when Will Wright nodded a corner back across the face of goal, but the visitors managed to scramble clear with Miguel Freckleton lurking.
After the break, both sides continued to struggle in front of goal. Ellis Taylor’s wayward volley for Harrogate typified the lack of quality. Swindon substitute Paul Glatzel threatened with a strong run towards goal, but a back-tracking defender blocked his shot.
Harrogate’s substitute Sam Folarin was also put through on goal but only managed a weak attempt under pressure from the Swindon defence. Late on, George Cox glanced a header wide, leaving the match to fizzle out to a frustrating goalless draw for both sides.
“I’m really, really frustrated,” said head coach Mark Kennedy after the game. “It was a tough game in terms of Harrogate’s game plan, but good luck to them. They had a heavy defeat during the week, so I totally understand why Simon set up the way he did and how they approached the game. It made things incredibly tough for us.”
Suggesting the dour encounter was endemic to the opponent’s approach and not simply a reflection of every other Swindon game this season, Kennedy continued. “Their job was to find a way to get a result. The game had very little space, especially in behind. The midfield was heavily congested, so it was quite difficult to break them down. I understand that even the best teams in the world face challenges like that, but you still have to find a way. I just felt that if we had scored early, it would have changed the dynamics of the game.”
Finally, he did turn the spotlight on his own players, adding, “We were too safe in our passing and not brave enough with our decisions. In the second half, there were multiple times when we needed to play down the sides and be more direct. On the left, George Cox was getting into good spaces behind, but we didn’t use him enough.
There were many times in midfield when we picked up the ball, saw our winger out wide or our outside center-halves being aggressive, but we turned it down and opted for the safe option. We made life difficult for ourselves in how we moved the ball. It’s not a hard pass, just a simple 10-yard pass, but nobody wanted to play it because it didn’t excite anyone. We were really guilty of that, particularly in the central areas on the left. If I were a winger, a wing-back, or an outside centre-half today, I’d be really frustrated.”
It might now have been the wing-backs that were frustrated though – it seems many supporters were as well. They’re voting with their feet at the County Ground, and those that were there had this to say on social media.
Next Clown in JR. oh and your recruitment is awful. #clemout
— Glenn (@GlennRichards8) October 5, 2024
OMG the excuses! Get out idiot!
— JK (@jk31283003) October 5, 2024
Was hoping he said he resigns
— Quincey (@danquince2) October 5, 2024
Is he watching a different match?
— $too (blue star innit) (@StooCollins) October 5, 2024
“Pitch heavily congested”?? There is the same amount of players on it like any other game of football. If you stop parking the bus then you might actually see changes. We need a new manager now.
— Eirikur Fridriksson (@efrissa73) October 5, 2024
7 shots on target in 4 matches, there’s a stat for you Mark.
— Spencer Twitchen (@STFCSPENCER) October 6, 2024
The midfield was non existent today we by passed them at every opportunity
Why play mcgregor if they weren’t going to use him he was the outlet ball in the first half
The sobowale substitution was a sackable offence on its own— Paul Cottle (@PaulCottle) October 5, 2024
