Swindon Town suffered a 3-0 defeat away to Oldham Athletic this week, a result that provided a stark reality check according to the Swindon Advertiser. Elliott Nevitt, Calum Kavanagh, and Mike Fondop scored the goals for the hosts at Boundary Park.
The Swindon backline struggled throughout the match. The Swindon Advertiser gave right-back Kaelan Majekodunmi a rating of 3, noting he "could not cope" with the pace of Oldham's wingers and was "twisted in more knots than a German bakery." Centre-back Stephan Negru, previously an outstanding addition, also received a 3 after a difficult afternoon where he lost composure and misplaced passes. His partner Ryan Tafazolli fared slightly better with a 4, but his lack of pace was exposed by Fondop. Left-back Mitch Clark was given the same score, benefiting from most of the danger being on the opposite flank.
The midfield offered little control or creativity. Anthony Munda, following a promising debut, was rated 3 after a trying game where a forced pass directly led to the opening goal. Ben Middlemas was largely anonymous and also scored a 3. Further forward, attacking midfielder Ollie Clarke demonstrated the most endeavour but lacked quality, earning a 4. Wingers Louis Millard and Joe Snowdon both received ratings of 4. Millard's pace was underutilised due to poor service, while Snowdon showed a flash of quality with a good pass for Aaron Drinan but looked rusty after a long absence.
Striker Aaron Drinan was handed a 3. The service into him was poor, but the Swindon Advertiser noted he "seemed to go hiding" and was often not in the right positions. Substitute Ollie Palmer was the only outfield player to receive a positive rating, a 6. His introduction for the second consecutive week helped Town get up the pitch more effectively as he used his physical presence to hold up the ball. Other substitutes fared poorly, with debutant Jack Thomson and Tom Nichols both getting 3s, and Paul Glatzel a 4.
Goalkeeper Connor Ripley was the sole bright spot, earning a 7. The Swindon Advertiser stated that "without Ripley, this could have been a proper lashing." He made a sublime save from a Kavanagh header and repeatedly bailed out his defenders. His performance prevented the scoreline from being even more emphatic.
Manager Ian Holloway apologised to the travelling fans after the match, admitting his team was "outfought and outplayed." This was Swindon Town's first defeat to Oldham in a decade. The team's next match is at home to Crawley Town on Saturday.
