SEVEN days after bringing a 13-match winless run to an end, Swindon Town were brought back down to earth with a bump as they were battered by the Cod Army in the North West this afternoon.

A 2-1 victory over Scunthorpe United may have restored some good feeling around the County Ground but Martin Ling’s first away league match in charge of ended in crushing disappointment as Fleetwood Town ran riot against Swindon, leaving them submerged back in the murky waters of the relegation zone.

After featuring as a substitute in last weekend’s Scunthorpe success, Wes Thomas was passed fit to return to the Town starting line-up whilst Yaser Kasim returned from international duty to take the place of the injured Drissa Traore.

However, there was no place for Louis Thompson, with the visitors only allowed to field five loanees within their squad of 18.

To Ling’s dismay, his team looked a bag of nerves in the opening stages and when Town got themselves in a muddle from a throw-in, Eggert Jonsson played in David Henen but Lawrence Vigouroux charged off his line to make a fine stop.

Shortly afterwards, opposition goalie Chris Maxwell was forced to follow in Vigouroux’s footsteps as he got down well to knock away Nicky Ajose’s low, fizzing effort.

With 12 minutes on the clock, the hosts saw a big chance to take the lead go missing as David Ball turned Tariqe Fosu’s cross wide of the post whilst up the other end, Thomas outmuscled fellow Birmingham City loanee Amari’i Bell before finding Brandon Ormonde-Ottewill but his strike was charged down by Conor McLaughlin.

Fleetwood’s Ball attempted to open up his body and fire in following an excellent defence-splitting pass from midfield in the 23rd minute but couldn’t find the far corner whilst Anton Rodgers almost got lucky with an instinctive effort as he knocked the ball not far over the crossbar from a Raphael Branco cross, with his back to goal.

Just past the half-hour mark, the visitors began to exert the lion’s share of pressure on their opponents but in the 34th minute, Town’s luck deserted them as they fell behind.

Henen drove into the area from the right flank and smashed the ball into the danger zone, where it arrowed into the net after cannoning off the unfortunate Adam El-Abd to make it 1-0.

Antoni Sarcevic wasn’t far off-target with a driven strike from the edge of the area as Swindon battled to steady their ship, with home captain Nathan Pond booked for a full-blooded two-footed challenge on Ben Gladwin in added time, despite a clutch of Town players appealing for a red card.

Early in the second period, Fleetwood’s Fosu drew a diving save from Vigouroux and it wasn’t long before the home side went 2-0 up.

The hosts broke on the counter-attack, with Branco going down injured in the process, and Vigouroux was forced to rush off his line to challenge Ball but referee Darren England wasted little time pointing to the spot following the goalkeeper’s attempted block, ruling that he had brought down the Fleetwood striker.

That allowed Sarcevic to sweep home the ensuing penalty, leaving Ling’s men with a mountain to climb.

With 63 minutes on the clock, that mountain became even more insurmountable as the Cod Army rubbed sea salt into Town’s wounds, Sarcevic sliding a ball into the path of the impressive Henen, who slotted home to further increase his team’s lead.

Fleetwood had the bit between their teeth and continued to charge forward.

Midfielder Ryan found himself in possession on the edge of the area and slipped a clever ball through for Fosu, whose shot appeared to somehow wrong-foot Swindon goalie Vigouroux as it rolled into the net to make it 4-0.

Ajose did provide some late consolation for Town as he stooped low to head home Barry’s cross but it didn’t take long for the hosts to restore their hearty lead, substitute Bobby Grant cutting inside onto his left foot and lashing a sublime dipping strike into the top corner to ensure that Ling’s side were left with that sinking feeling.

SWINDON TOWN: Lawrence Vigouroux, Raphel Branco (C), Adam El-Abd, Jordan Turnbull, Bradley Barry, Yaser Kasim, Anton Rodgers (Fabien Robert 60), Ben Gladwin, Brandon Ormonde-Ottewill (James Brophy 75), Wes Thomas (Jonathan Obika 60), Nicky Ajose.

Subs not used: Tyrell Belford, Ellis Iandolo, Henrik Ojamaa, Jermaine Hylton.

Attendance: 2,880

Referee: Darren England