Vic Morgan always gets' it spot on (cheers GM)
Former BBC Wiltshire match commentator Vic Morgan writes his weekly blog…
At least we got a draw…
On the coldest day of the season so far, a goalless game didn’t warm us up too much. It was though, a point and a deserved one.
The first half against Southend was, to put it mildly, pretty awful. After the break much better. Okay, a couple of excellent saves from Lawrence Vigouroux kept us in the game, but the introduction of Hylton and Murray added a bit of a zip to the proceedings.
Before the match, those I spoke to would have taken a draw, so I felt pretty satisfied if not frozen at the final whistle. At this stage of the campaign every point is ***** and at least we can say in 2017 we haven’t lost, haven’t conceded a goal and remain unbeaten at home.
We also waved a fond farewell to Darnell Furlong and Michael Doughty. New Queen’s Park Rangers manager Ian Holloway obviously wants to run the rule over all his players and so they return to their parent club. I wish them well. Who knows we may see them again some day.
What was pleasing on Monday, as well as the result, was the way Swindon kept a pretty potent Southend strike force at bay. One time Town hero Simon Cox must have been looking forward to his County Ground return but never really looked like scoring against his former team.
The same can be said of one Nile Ranger. So some positives to take away as well as a mild case of hypothermia.
With the departure of Furlong and Doughty, it’s now a case of waiting for the new arrivals to beat a path to the club’s reception. I’ve no doubt that as I write this, the cavalry is on it’s way. We’ve been promised experienced players. I hope they’re making this column out of date even now and we can look forward to some new faces on Saturday.
As for the weekend? A must win game? Can’t afford to lose? Well not quite that serious, but the visit of fellow strugglers Shrewsbury is, without doubt, our biggest game of the season so far.
Win this one and we put distance between one of the sides in the bottom four. If we fail to win then we’re well and truly locked in a struggle for survival.
A long way to go of course but now we’ve past the half way mark things tend to get serious. It’s a huge match. It’s a game we need to take by the scruff of the neck from the off. No messing about, let’s get behind the team and get this one won.
As for the team? No excuses, the fans will demand total commitment. It’s fair to say the way things have been this season has affected the atmosphere. Well on Saturday, crank it up on and off the pitch.
A lot has been said about the team being affected mentally when things go wrong, how about making them go right? It’s in your hands, or to be more accurate feet, boys. Don’t let us down and we won’t let you down.
Keep it loud keep it proud keep it SWINDON!
