[choirboy]

Lord D........
My point is not that Swindon were more 'Physical' than Stanley it is that they persistently pushed, barged and leaned on our players throughout the match.
Other posters have made points to support this view and also how this is difficult for the referee to always pick up.
If you watch just the brief highlights shown on the video coverage posted above, observe the following considering two aerial duels;
1) In the first few seconds of the video, inside the Stanley penalty box, Hughes is barged into/pushed by a Swindon attacker, who is also leading with an elbow, and Hughes is knocked to the ground! .......a foul in my book!
2) For Kayden Jackson's goal there is an aerial 'physical' duel including a possible foul by the Swindon player but the referee saw fit to play on as he saw Stanley's numerical advantage going forward which resulted in Kayden's well taken goal. In this instance the referee did really well by applying the advantage rule.

Both penalties awarded could be adjudged to have been somewhat soft and in my view both were accidental clips of an opponents heel when advancing into scoring positions. But YES, they are both definite penalties. Neither 'offender' was booked as the referee understood that the nature of the fouls were 'accidental' but that they were also stopping a scoring opportunity. Compare these two penalty awards with the single tackle that Clarke made on the halfway line that was obviously an accidental catch of his opponents heel too and yet he gets a Yellow card and for a 'foul' in a much less critical area of the pitch!.......A correct award of a free kick but a ridiculous Yellow card, in my view!
So I repeat my main point about my 'diatribe' is that I am not really having a go at the referee but that I am being critical of Swindon's tactics of persistently pushing.........ie CHEATING!

ON STANLEY ON

ps Just another point.
I thought that the choice of Swindon's away kit of pale green and shiny shirts made them difficult to see on a frosty night with a scattering of snow on the pitch......great tactics perhaps by Swindon?........ssshhhh........possible cheating????........
Naw not really!