County Ground - Swindon Town FC
Swindon Town 2-3 Aston Villa
30/10/12 - League Cup 4th Round
Att: 14,434
Eyebrows were raised by some when I backed Villa to win the League Cup at 33/1 in the summer, but after seeing off Tranmere Rovers and Manchester City in the previous two rounds The Villans found themselves just three rounds away from Wembley. Swindon Town were next up, with the League One side having already seen off Brighton, Stoke and Burnley from higher divisions in the competition this season, so it was clear that it would not be an easy game.
Having secured one of the 3,300 available tickets for Villa fans I set off from home at around 16:00 and arrived in Swindon just over an hour later. It was quite a straight forward to trip, but as I got near the ground I found myself coming into contact with the infamous "Magic Roundabout" during rush hour. I'm not ashamed to say that I got to the first mini-roundabout, completely bottled it, did a U-turn and headed in an opposite direction before parking in a nearby Tesco.
After visiting a local Wetherspoons we headed to the ground, wanting to get there with time to spare as lower league grounds have been known to be badly organised when dealing with a much larger crowd than they're used to. To Swindon's credit there was no issue at the turnstiles and we got into the ground in plenty of time without much hassle. With our seats behind the goal in the uncovered Stratton Bank we prayed for the rain to keep off, which it thankfully did.
It was just a 15 minute walk from the town centre to the County Ground, where four large floodlight pylons greet you as you come towards it. It's been home to Swindon Town since 1896 and became the first ground in England to install floodlights in 1951. It was converted to an all-seated venue following the Hillsborough disaster with both The Town End and the Stratton Bank having seats bolted to the old terracing. The Arkells Stand on one side of the ground is all seated, having been built in 1971 and on the opposite side is the newest part of the ground - The Don Rodgers Stand, which was opened in 1994 with Town playing in the Premier League. Both side stands are large, steep, single tiered stands and create an imposing feel, although this feeling isn't matched behind both goals with the Town End being quite small and the Stratton Bank being open. While the ground is showing it's age in some places, it's still a great venue with plenty of character and more than adequate for where Swindon are at the moment, with the average attendance currently around the 8,000 mark.
After securing the League Two title last season Paolo Di Canio's side have got off to a good start in League One, currently in the play off picture. Both sides have history in the League Cup with Swindon Town lifting the trophy in 1969 in what remains their only major triumph when they defeated Arsenal as a Third Division team in the final. Aston Villa were the first winners of the competition in 1961 and have since won it in 1975, 1977, 1994 and 1996 - The 3-0 victory over Leeds in '96 was the last time Villa won a major trophy.
With the game completely sold out there was a cracking atmosphere as the teams entered the pitch. Although it's an all seated stadium the Town End remained on it's feet throughout the match and created a great noise for most of the game.
In the early stages it was Swindon who started the brightest, enjoying a lot of the ball but without creating many clear cut opportunities. They went closest to opening the scoring when Paul Benson's effort was cleared off the line by Matt Lowton but a swift counter attack from the visitors saw the first goal scored after half an hour, as Christian Benteke headed home Stephen Ireland's cross. It had been against the run of play and ten minutes later Villa looked like they'd killed the game off before half time when Gabby Agbonlahor cut in from the left and drilled the ball into the bottom corner.
Despite Villa's advantage they never asserted themselves on the contest and as the second half got underway it was Swindon who continued to dominate the ball and had a few near misses before they inevitably pulled a goal back with 12 minutes remaining. It had certainly been coming and it was no real surprise when Miles Storey got his second goal just a few moments later to bring the League One side on level terms. With the home crowd buzzing and Swindon in the ascendancy it looked as if there would only be one winner from here, but Paul Lambert made two changes and for the first time all night Villa had a dominant spell in the game. They threw everything at Swindon in the last five minutes and Weimann went close to winning the game but his effort cannoned back off the post. With time running out Eric Lichaj's ball into the box fell to Benteke who took a touch and kept his cool to smash home the winner, sending the 3,300 away supporters into ecstasy.
As the whistle went there was a collective feeling of jubilation and above all relief and I have to admit as I walked back to the car I couldn't help but feel slightly guilty as Swindon had given it everything and were largely the better side. I think the main difference between the sides was that Villa took their chances and having that extra quality in front of goal sent them into the quarter finals, where a trip to Norwich City awaits.
Before the game there had been fears of crowd trouble after reports of problems when Coventry City visited recently, but the police did a very good job of controlling things and as far as I could see the evening passed off peacefully.
It was a pretty easy drive home and I was back by about half past eleven, having witnessed an absorbing cup tie under the lights at a really good footballing venue. Grounds like these are a rare breed these days and it was a pleasure to see it packed to the rafters. It's a ground I would be delighted to re-visit one day.
Welcome to Swindon
Club shop
Behind the Town End
The Arkells Stand
The Town End
The Don Rodgers Stand
The Arkells Stand
Panoramic view of the County Ground
