Swindon Town put in dominant away performance to beat Yeovil Town

A dominant opening half in a sodden Somerset went unrewarded before Steven Alzate, Matt Taylor and Elijah Adebayo all rippled Nathan Baxter’s goal in the second period – earning Swindon a timely three points and placing them level on points with final play-off occupants Forest Green Rovers.

It was the performance Town fans had been patiently waiting for, especially when taking into account the previous weekend’s below-par performance at home to Bury – which ended in a one-goal defeat.

Swindon boss Phil Brown opted to make three changes to the side that were beaten at home by the Shakers a week earlier.

Jak McCourt, Jermaine McGlashan and Ellis Iandolo all missed out, with Olly Lancashire, Toumani Diagouraga and Keshi Anderson stepping in.

Yeovil, meanwhile, opted to field all but one of the five goalscorers from their previous 6-0 domination job at Newport County – Olufela Olomola was relegated to the bench.

Swindon controlled the opening exchanges of the game but failed to create any meaningful chance on goal.

The best opportunity came just after the opening five minutes had passed when Taylor’s free-kick from inside Yeovil’s half was met in the box by Adebayo.

The Swindon forward headed the ball down in hope to find either Alzate or James Dunne in front of him, but Yeovil cleared their lines as the score remained level.

It was another five minutes until the visitors were presented with their next chance after successfully defending Yeovil’s first attack.

A through ball in the direction of Adebayo was eventually struck on target, but it deflected onto goalkeeper Nathan Baxter’s left post – earning Swindon their first corner.

Luke Woolfenden’s blocked effort granted Lancashire with a chance on goal, although his right-footed effort was dragged wide of the Glovers’ goal.

Adebayo continued to dominate down the left and was rewarded with a free-kick when a sloppy challenge out of frustration by Bevis Mugabi presented Town with a set-piece from a dangerous position.

Anderson poached the ball in the 18-yard box after Yeovil appeared to be in a state of control. However, his cross was headed over Baxter’s crossbar when Adebayo met the ball in the six-yard box as the home side again escaped conceding a sloppy goal.

Mugabi’s inability to deal with Adebayo in the opening 20 minutes continued to haunt the hosts when he passed the ball out for a Town corner when under pressure.

A solid clearance from Yeovil was rescued by Town when Anderson again stole the ball in midfield before Adebayo’s cross from the left fell to the feet of Anderson following a clearance, although his lobbed effort crashed onto the top of Baxter’s netting.

Yeovil had their first chance on target on 27 minutes when Jordan Green escaped with the ball after Dunne failed to win a header. His powerful drive was comfortably smuggled by keeper Luke McCormick, though.

A slight break in play was granted by referee Matthew Donohue as Omar Sowunmi received medical attention, but Alzate’s storming run into the 18-yard box on the right followed before Anderson’s powerful effort following a cross was deflected out for a corner.

The experienced Marc Richards – who had a quiet opening period – failed to reap the rewards from Anderson’s determined run from inside Town’s half when he was delivered a well-timed through ball by the former Crystal Palace man.

Richards was quickly hunted down by Sowunmi, who cleared the ball for a throw-in.

Green had a chance to put the hosts ahead during injury time of the first half, but his effort went wide as the opening 45 minutes ended goalless.

A subdued opening eight minutes from the kick-off for the second half was followed by Anderson’s accurate and powerful shot from outside Yeovil’s area, which was superbly parried over by home stopper Baxter.

At the other end, Alex Pattison’s strike from a similar distance failed to reach the same accuracy as Anderson – the Glovers midfielder watching his effort sail over McCormick’s crossbar.

Playmaker Alzate sparked jubilation in a damp away end just before the hour mark when his unchallenged strike from distance defeated Baxter’s right reach – accurately hitting the bottom corner.

The goal failed to spark either side into life as a comparatively flat second half continued.

However, goalscorer Alzate was denied a huge penalty appeal when he was bundled to the ground from behind while advancing into the 18-yard box.

A defensive blunder minutes later granted Anderson with a one-on-one opportunity directly in front of goal.

Anderson struck his effort straight at Baxter, though, who made a comfortable save before the ball was cleared.

Hearts dropped in the Swindon defence when McCormick slipped prior to his failed clearance, with the ball falling to Pattison on the wing.

The home side hesitated on the edge of Swindon’s penalty box, though, allowing the visitors to regain possession via a throw-in.

Play continued either side of the halfway line – Alzate again went close to scoring when his 20-yard strike was gathered by Baxter.

Thoughts of Yeovil poaching a point were washed away 10 minutes from time, though, when Taylor registered his first goal of the season from a free-kick.

The left-back accurately curled his shot around Yeovil’s wall before nestling into the bottom corner of Baxter’s net.

A momentary lapse of concentration from Anderson in the Swindon penalty area gifted the hosts an unlikely chance to get back into the game as Green was sent tumbling into the ground following a corner.

However, substitute Olufela Olomola crashed his effort onto McCormick’s crossbar as Swindon’s two-goal lead remained intact.

Adebayo then capped Swindon’s most impressive performance of the season to date when curling an effort from marginally just inside the area low into Baxter’s net to seal an emphatic win on the road.