With nought else to do, I took a wander down to Brisbane Road last night. Orient's 3-0 win over the Robins might reflect their respective table positions (and current form), but I reckon Swindon will be no pushover at WHCS.
Defensively, Swindon were pretty terrible in the first half. Their poorly organised 'wall' allowed a long free kick to hit the net and they dismally failed when the O's put together some neat football to go 3 up on just 32 minutes. Looked like a landslide was coming. However, in the second half they were quite tight and fluent.
What concerns me is that on the break they are VERY swift, and seem willing to shoot from anywhere. They also appeared to have much time and space, and Russell Slade was vocally critical of his team for not closing them down and for work rate. Our midfield and defence will need optimum pace and stamina.
At free kicks, their central defenders all seem to be about 7ft tall. They hit the post, had numerous corners, and the O's goalie played a blinder. It could so easily have been 3-3. 3-0 perhaps flattered Orient, but they took their goals well, and Scott McGleish again impressed despite not scoring.
I predict that Saturday won't be a boring 0-0 draw. It wouldn't surprise me if it's a feast of flowing football and a 4-2 type result. But any hint of laziness or complacency and we could so easily see the reverse. Frankly, was good to see a side that didn't always want to "walk the ball" into the goal (or instead "score the perfect goal"). Swindon will shoot from anywhere, and if we back off from them, Mark Cousins might need to be at his most agile. |  |
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