1 week Ago
TEN-MAN CITY suffered a dramatic and devastating 5-4 defeat at Swindon to slip down to second in League Two with four games to go. MAN OF THE MATCH Brad Halliday worked tirelessly, scoring and creating, but it is impossible to look beyond Calum Kavanagh, who netted his first senior hat-trick with three clinical finishes. MOMENT OF THE MATCH Richie Smallwood’s red card for an unnecessary challenge on Paul Glatzel inside 15 minutes turned the afternoon upside down after City’s superb start.
MOAN OF THE MATCH The Bantams surely went too defensive, too early, by brining on Ciaran Kelly and Callum Johnson for Alex Pattison and Bobby Pointon at the break, with only Swindon’s wastefulness stopping them from winning the game earlier. TACTICS Graham Alexander lined up with his preferred 3-4-2-1 formation, with Jack Shepherd and Brandon Khela coming in for ill pairing Aden Baldwin and George Lapslie. City did not change much initially after Smallwood’s red card but they played a something akin to a 5-2-1-1 after the break, with Halliday and Tayo Adaramola pushing up, Johnson and Romoney Crichlow as the full-backs, with Kelly, Neill Byrne and Jack Shepherd as the three centre-halves.
REFEREE: Thomas Kirk (Cheshire) BOOKINGS: Butterworth, Smith (Swindon); Khela, Halliday, Shepherd, Adaramola (City) DISMISSALS: Smallwood (City) ATTENDANCE: 8,051 (with 1,102 from City) SHOTS ON TARGET: Swindon 12 City 6 SHOTS OFF TARGET: Swindon 15 City 3 CORNERS: Swindon 11 City 0 FOULS: Swindon 10 City 8 POSSESSION %: Swindon 73 City 27 PLAYER RATINGS SWINDON: Ripley 6, Wright 6, Clarke 5 (Butterworth 46, 6), Freckleton 7, Cotterill 5, Kirkman 6, (Ameen 28, 8), Kilkenny 5 (Westley 46, 6), Tshimanga 6, Glatzel 6 (Cox 76, 6), Nichols 6 (Ofoborh 76, 6), Smith 7. Subs not used: Bycroft, Sobowale. BANTAMS: S.
Walker 7, Byrne 5, Shepherd 5, Crichlow 6 (Wright 90), Halliday 8, Smallwood 2, Pattison 5 (Johnson 46, 6), Adaramola 7 (Mellon 90), Khela 6 (Sarcevic 74, 7), Pointon 5 (Kelly 46, 5), Kavanagh 8. Subs not used: Hilton, J. Walker.
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