Swindon 1, Bristol Rvrs 0

Swindon Town take all 3 points at the County Ground this afternoon after Christian Roberts scored a 67th minute penalty.

Bristol Rovers almost took the lead after 2 minutes as a shot beat Town keeper Peter Brezovan and rattled the cross bar..

The first half was pretty poor from Swindon with Rovers looking the side more likley to score. The teams would go into the break at half time. It felt nothing like a derby as the atmosphere was very flat in both ends of the stadium.

The second half got very spicy indeed with Rovers goalkeeper Steve Phillips the centre of the problems.

On the 57th minute, Phillips threw a fit after Town striker Simon Cox went for a ball and bumped into Phillips who then started pushing Cox. Rovers Ryan Green would come and join the pushing match.

On the 67h minute Town were awarded a panelty after Joe Jacobson upended Christian Roberts.

Roberts would convert his penalty and send the Swindon Town fans into raptures.

On the 82nd minute choas ensued as Jerel Ifil was judged to have held down Rovers Richard Walker who then lashed out at Ifil. Both men were sent off. Steve Elliot would argue Walker’s sending off and then be given his marching orders. Both sets of players continued pushing each other around before the match restarted.

Sofiene Zaaboub would come on to replace Ifil who was red carded. Bristol Rovers Danny Coles had an equaliser disallowed as the linesan had his flag raised for offside just after the scuffle.

The Mayhem began again when Simon Cox ran for a ball heading for Rovers keeper Steve Phillips however Phillips went down hard in a desperate attempt to get Cox sent off. Cox offered to help Phillips up and he pushed Cox away and tempers flared again.

Sofiene Zaabobu ould be the next victim of referee Styles after a late challenge on Ryan Green saw Zaaboub red carded. 4 players, 2 from each side had been red carded.

Town would hold on to all 3 points but the ill feeling towards both sets of fans in the stands and players on the pitch has increased.

After the final whistle baby Steve Phillips would push Christian Roberts as he celebrated with Town fans.

The Swindon Town, Bristol Rovers derby is now a spicy local derby indeed.

Player Ratings

Peter Brezovan 9
Did not put a foot wrong. Was fantastic and made some brilliant saves. Superb today and back at his best.

Miguel Comminges 7
Commminges was brilliant today at the back and made several key challenges.

Jerel Ifil 8
Solid again at the back and was unfortunate to be sent off. Town will miss Ifil who is out for 3 games now due to his red card.

Hasney Aljofree 8
Again like Ifil was solid. A leader and will face stiff competition from Ady Williams when he returns soon.

Jack Smith 7
Looked a bit rusty at the start and slipped quite a bit on the wet pitch. Made some good clearances.

Jon-Paul McGovern 5
Another poor game from JP. Has not looked great since his first game in a Town shirt. Did have a go at Steve Phillips though!

Craig Easton 7
One of the best midfielders in League One. Stopped Rovers in their tracks.

Michael Pook 7
Pook was re-called to the squad due to an injury to Lee Peacock. Pook looked great today and got several key tackles in.

Christian Roberts 6
Another pretty poor show from Robbo, Converted his penalty well but forgot at one stage how to pass.

Billy Paynter 6
Perhaps needs a rest and start Corr up front to freshen things up. Paynter didn’t jump and looked awfully slow on the pitch.

Simon Cox 8
Did everything but score. Ran around and will more than likely be looking to head to a Championship side when his loan ends in January.

Barry Corr 8
Ran around a bit and was an aerial threat.

Sofiene Zaaboub 5
Stupid challenge and didn’t help himself by sulking when he got sent off. The other players had to hurry him off the pitch.

Next Match
Made his Swindon Town, league debut but was not on long enough to rate.

Manager Rating
Paul Sturrock 8/10 – Sturrock wasn’t supposed to be at this game according to a report in the Daily Mail. They had said he was Plymouth Argyle’s new manager. Well they were wrong and Sturrock put out a team with only one change from the week before. Michael Pook came in for a injured Lee Peacock.

Opponent Rating
Paul Trollpe 8/10 – A draw would have been a fair result for this match. Rovers threw everything at Swindon and only a fantastic performance from Peter Brezovan ensured that Town got the 1-0 victory this afternoon.

Bristol Rovers Fans
This game was always going to have its element of hooliganism. Bristol Rovers fans kicked off at the bottom of Town around 11am this morning. A mass brawl involving about 40 people kicked off with several arrests made. There were also problems in Old Town as well as near the County Ground pub before the game.

Match Stats
Click HERE for all the match stats from the Swindon Town/Bristol Rovers match

Next Match
Fa Cup Sponsored by E.ON – Round 2 – Swindon Town V Forest Green Rovers, Saturday 1 December 2007, 3pm kick off.