Swindon: what a bottle job

[London Irish]

What can you say? It's the truth, isn't it? They outplayed us totally and eventually got the bit of good fortune they probably deserved with their first goal, bobbled around the area for ages and they eventually got the last touch. That hit us hard, and drained the life out of us - but you have to say, Swindon's second, great football.

But how many minutes over the two games did we show the character and defensive nous to defend a lead - close to 100 minutes of football, and of discipline, team-work and intelligence.

All Swindon had to do was 20 minutes of the same - and they BOTTLED IT as a team. They were running the game and they sat back and let what was a unsettled and disorganised Albion team come at them. THANK YOU SWINDON you utter CLOWNS.

Our equaliser was no fluke - we had great chances to score previously through Danny and Big Chris. WE DESERVED THAT GOAL because we had the GUTS to raise our heads above what was a below-par performance and GO FOR IT.

Fortune favours the brave and WE WERE THE BRAVEST TEAM ON THE PITCH in those last 10 minutes of extra time. I'm a big fan of what McGhee has done with the team this season, but I don't know if he had a lot to do with those last 10 mins - that was down to the CHARACTER and SPIRIT of the 11 guys left on the pitch.

Quite rightly there is a thread praising Adam Virgo but if there was one player who might have even done better than him, I'd say if was Gary Hart, who rolled back the years, for too often in that game he was our ONLY threat.

I just can't climb down from this BLOODY CEILING.

 

[SussexSpur]

All very true, but also would have said, if that sudden Brighton equaliser hadn't gone in and Swindon had held on, that they fully deserved it over the two legs too.
All hypothetical, I know, and calling to mind the classic Gullit observation along the lines of "If my aunt had a dick, she'd be my uncle", or something like that.
And well done to Brighton for keeping going right to the extreme of the very end, and catching Swindon just slightly - but fatally - napping.
But I wouldn't say Swindon disgraced themselves at all.
Just a classic dramatic climax, good on the Albion for ultimately having that little extra - and, whatever you've done to Guy Butters, do you think you could do the same to Dean Richards

 

[Donny Osmond]

How did you manage to type that.

 

[El Presidente]

Swindon were the better team in both matches, but never created a hatful of chances to go with their possession. I thought we were poor tonight, and seemed to have no gameplan apart from hoof it upfield.

However.......CARDIFF HERE WE COME

 

[Beach Hut]

We were awful at times tonight but they had lost the initiative by the time of the penalty shoot out.

It is getting it right when needed and thankfully we did.

 

[albiongirl]

I'm fed up that people are saying we were lucky but you make your own luck and we took it.Swindon should have put the game beyond us but they didn't and because of that our side battled and never gave up. It was not pretty but who cares we are going to Cardiff.

 

[Tony Le Mesmer]

We were shit (past tense). But we are there. Thats all that matters at the end of the day

 

[SussexSpur]

I'm fed up that people are saying we were lucky but you make your own luck and we took it.Swindon should have put the game beyond us but they didn't and because of that our side battled and never gave up. It was not pretty but who cares we are going to Cardiff.

Well, exactly.
After all, who really remembers or cares how Bayern bossed all but two minutes of the 99 European Cup Final?

Bet that trip back to Swindon tonight feels like it lasts years and years. . .

 

[Happy Seagull]

Waiting till the end was always in McGhee's game plan. He just wanted to f*** with King's mind alittle more

 

[Brightonfan1983]

bloody hell i wish i'd been there

 

[Yorkie]

Guts and determination won the day.

 

[graz126]

i cannot remember a single game this season were we have got a result in the last minute. but can remember a few against us plymouth and sheff weds away for a start. about time we had some luck. save the best till last i say.

 

[Stumpy Tim]

I'm fed up that people are saying we were lucky but you make your own luck and we took it.Swindon should have put the game beyond us but they didn't and because of that our side battled and never gave up. It was not pretty but who cares we are going to Cardiff.

we were lucky. dont care how fed up you are. we were rubbish

 

[Yorkie]

we were lucky. dont care how fed up you are. we were rubbish

Shut up Tim

tonight is not a night for moaning.

 

[chips and gravy]

The gameplan appeared to be to defend the 1-0 lead tonight. We did that for 78 minutes admirably. I was shitting myself for most of that time as I always thought we would need to score and yet we never looked capable of doing so. The midfield were far too deep to make a meaningful contribution to the attackers so Chris and Leon looked inert up front. We improved when Gary Hart was switched to cover Leon's position, principally due to his never say die attitude.

It's funny how things go because I thought we were more effective at stifling their attacks in the second half yet failed to deal with the one attack that did get behind us. The second goal in extra time should have killed us off and I think Swindon thought it would. I also wasn't sure if they knew the rules because they were time wasting as soon as they scored as if it were a silver goal.

Top marks to Virgo - if big Chris had buried his chance a few minutes before we might have finished the job before going to penalties. But scoring so late meant that I wasn't too worried about the penalties as it was a bonus just to have got that far. I suspect that's how the players felt too, as they were all clinically taken.

I won't forget tonight in a hurry, however we get on at Cardiff

 

[Gblocksouthstand]

Swindon blew it by giving the ball away for all the last 5 minutes - they shouldda kept in the corners a la Charlie/Jonah at their place. They just thought they'd done enough. Still can't believe it , and i've seen the ITV transmission - the commentator really had it in for Roberts. we're goin to Cardiff we're goin to cardiff they're not they're not

 

[SK1NT]

i cant believe! im soo excited i cant sleep! our lads were the nuts!

and i was on sky sports, come on!

ANDY KING IS A WANKER, IS WANKER

 

[London Irish]

Chips and Gravy is spot on. There was some disappointing aspects in our performance but the 1-0 lead from the first leg always meant we were going to keep things tight and play to our defensive strengths. I think McGhee was hoping that we would get more chances but it is not right to say we played poorly up to the Parkin goal - Swindon were restricted to very meagre chances.

Virgs didn't have to wait until the 120th minute! He was one-on-one with the goalie early on but somehow lost track of the ball, if that golden chance had been taken we were home and dry. McGhee did not sit back and let events overwhelm him, he brought OGH on very early on in the 2nd half to give us more threat up front and that was a good move.

We were 10 minutes or so away from a satisfactory job done. Bringing Hinshelwood on also looked a sound move by McGhee.

But there is no shame being undone by Sammy Igoe, be honest, have we we seen a classier Div 2 attacking midfielder this season? We would gave a lot to have someone like him in our team - he is too good for this division. If both Parkin and Mooney flopped in this 2-leg tie, you can't say that of Igoe, who was superb. Even then, Swindon had "the luck" that they've whinged they haven't had when two Roberts saves beginning with the fantastic Igoe shot fell at the feet of their players and the goal was scored.

It was the period from then on to the beginning of the second period of extra time when, it is true, we were very close to being the rubbish of Tim's description. There was no urgency in response to their goal and penalties looked the best we could hope for. Our hesitancy led to the second goal which Swindon took very well. McGhee seemed powerless to shape events, the introduction of Piercy for Jonah appeared to have little impact on our mediocrity.

Perhaps what saved us was what we were moaning about so loudly at the beginning of the second period of extra time! We thought Igoe was time-wasting but his injury seemed to knock the intelligence out of Swindon. They lost their shape and suddenly we had chances, it was actually 3 good ones, Danny's shot, Hinsh's header and Big Chris' too tame shot. The goal was coming thanks to Swindon's inability to close out the game as GBlock states, and thankfully, we just had enough time to get it.

McGhee had done brilliant to get us to Cardiff but on this occasion he was saved by Swindon's frailties and the never-say-die spirit shown by his players.

I expect Charlie wil get his usual brickbats, and he didn't play as well as he did on Sunday, that's obvious, but it was his urgency in taking the long throw that was the crucial "goal assist" for Virgs.

 

[Icy Gull]

I was so pissed off with the way we played and was convinced from very early on that we were going to concede. As the game wore I on I became even more depressed as I couldn't see anyway that we could score if we needed to and was resigned to defeat when Swindon scored their second.

You are 100% right London Irish, Swindon bottled it and tried to do exactly what we had done for nearly two games and couldn't hold out for 20 mins. The Albion inspired by Gary Hart showed immense character not to let their heads drop in the last few minutes, mine had

If ever a game defined the highs and lows of football, last night was it.

Is it expecting too much for us to go out at Cardiff and play football or are we gonna look like muggers again?? It shouldn't matter given the prize at the end I guess.

 

[Reading Posh]

Some of you would do well to watch and learn from Mark McGhee's post-match interview.

He was so embarassed by the victory he felt he should be apologising to Andy King - he went up in my estimation for that reaction.

From a neutral perspective Swindon dominated and deserved to be winning the tie. They didn't 'bottle it' they did what all teams tend to do when they're in front within only minutes left - they backed off.

Full marks to Virgo for gambling on a late run into the box in anticipation of a flicked-on header - the scenes were absolutely marvellous (like Bristol's oddly enough) with victory snatched from certain defeat.

Can't wait for Cardiff