Swindon Town

Town - 1 (De Vita '59)

Preston - 4 (Sodje '5, Wroe '10, Beavon '43, Welsh '68)


SWINDON were handed a reality check after Tuesday's cup heroics, going down 4-1 at Preston North End.

Three goals down at the break, Town grabbed one back through Raffaele De Vita but a fourth goal sealed the win for the home side.

Paolo Di Canio made one change to the side that had beaten Stoke in midweek. Luke Rooney replaced Matt Ritchie, who had to sit the game out through injury. There were places on the bench for four of the new signings, with Giles Coke missing out. Paul Benson was also back among the substitutes.

Town were behind after just five minutes. Having not conceded a goal in their opening three league games, the home side's first goal saw some very uncharacteristic defensive errors. Firstly, Wes Foderingham's clearance was charged down by a Preston player. The looping ball was allowed to bounce and in stole Akpo Sodje who drove home into the corner.

Shell-shocked, the Town could not manage to settle. Pressed back into their own half by the home side, it was 2-0 after ten minutes. A neat passing move through midfield ended with Nicky Wroe side-footing home a centre from the Preston left.

With twenty minutes on the clock, Paolo Di Canio was prompted into a change, replacing Foderingham with debutant Leigh Bedwell in goal.

Shortly before the break, the young goalkeeper was picking the ball out of the net as Preston added a third. A deep corner was nodded back into the middle where Stuart Beavon was on hand to poke home.

In a disappointing first 45 for the visitors, James Collins registered their only effort on goal, heading over from Luke Rooney's cross.

The second half brought with it an improved performance from the Town, with substitute John Bostock involved early on. He cut-in off the right and watched as his effort deflected off a defender and clipped the crossbar. Meanwhile De Vita collected a long pass and fired straight at Stuckmann.

Just short of the hour mark, Town were back in it. Almost a carbon copy of his earlier chance, De Vita collected a pass before advancing on goal and firing across the goalkeeper into the far corner.

With a renewed sense of belief, Swindon continued to push forward. However, with just over 20 minutes to play, the hosts sealed all three points with a killer fourth goal. A corner was cleared to John Welsh on the edge of the area and his low drive flew through a crowd of players before nestling in the bottom corner with Bedwell rooted to the spot.

After the highs of Tuesday night, Town were brought back down to earth with a bump, conceding four goals for the first time since a 4-1 reverse at Southampton in 2011. The squad must now re-focus before Wednesday's Johnstone's Paint Trophy clash at Oxford United.


Swindon: Wes Foderingham (Bedwell '21); Joe Devera, Aden Flint, Alan McCormack (Capt), Jay McEveley, Luke Rooney (Bostock '45), Alan Navarro (Ferry '65), Tommy Miller, Raffaele De Vita, James Collins, Andy Williams

Substitutes: Leigh Bedwell, Federico Bessone, Simon Ferry, John Bostock, Paul Benson, Darren Ward, Adam Rooney 

Preston: Stuckmann, Keane, Laird, Huntington, Candsell-Sherriff, Wroe (Capt), Sodje, Monakana, Welsh, Wright, Beavon

Substitutes: Amoo, Buchanan, Proctor, Beardsley, King, Simonsen, Hayhurst