Player ratings: Swindon Town dominate ten-man Walsall

Charlie Austin scored two minutes from the first whistle and Rushian Hepburn-Murphy got a second two minutes from the last whistle as Swindon asserted their control against a Walsall side who were reduced to ten men after Tom Knowles got a brace of bookings in the second half.

So, how did the Swindon players perform at the County Ground?

GK: Murphy Mahoney – 6.5

Sutton United was probably the first game all season there could be any criticism of Mahoney and he responded well here. He was not called into action often but made one vital save at the end of the first half and his distribution was excellent once again.

RCB: Udoka Godwin-Malife – 6

I feel that Michael Flynn wants his defenders to be a little more cautious than they were in the opening weeks of the season and so Godwin-Malife stayed back more often. He defended well, but the times we did go forward he caused problems and you just wanted to see it more often.

CB: Tom Brewitt – 6

There were a few question marks surrounding Brewitt coming into the season, but I feel he is answering them. He had a tough task against a physical unit like Freddie Draper, but he definitely won the individual duel.

LCB: Frazer Blake-Tracy – 8

I did question Blake-Tracy after Sutton as he had a tough time against those giants, but that was not close to being an issue against Walsall. Nine aerial duels won out of nine and four of six on the ground today, he was a defensive rock.

Remeao Hutton was a danger down the right (Image: Andy Crooks)

RWB: Remeao Hutton – 7

In a game where Walsall wanted to congest the midfield, Swindon needed their wingbacks to step up and Hutton did. He got the early assist and often combined well with Dan Kemp to be a danger throughout.

CM: Saidou Khan – 6

Khan showed what Swindon were missing last week, particularly in the second half. He was a bit slow to start, but after the break he was breaking up any Walsall counter attacks and kept the ball moving.

CM: George McEachran – 7

A very impressive display. Walsall coming with four central midfielders meant it was going to be a tough day in the middle, but McEachran did very well. Where there was space to be had, he used it and was at his metronomic best.

LWB: Tariq Uwakwe – 4

I have felt that Uwakwe was improving week on week, but this was far from his best outing. He never made a huge impact on Knowles when he was on the pitch and didn’t create a lot for the strikers. A blip more than anything more, but not his best work.

George McEachran ran the show in midfield (Image: Andy Crooks)

CAM: Dan Kemp – 5

This was a little like the Doncaster game as Kemp was marked out for large portions of the game. He linked up with Hutton a few times to good effect and put in some nice crosses that deserved more. But we all know that Kemp runs games when he is on song, and he was unable to do that.

ST: Charlie Austin – 7

A brilliant header that looked like it was the Gavin Gunning days once again was the start of a strong performance. He dropped in and linked play well, as well as being in position when required in the box. This is what you want to see from Austin.

ST: Jake Young – 5

An off day for him. Once or twice, he was able to isolate a defender and run at them and he caused danger then, but he struggled to be involved. For the first time this season he looked on a different wavelength to the other forwards at times. Must have had too much sauce on his pasta.

Subs:

Rushian Hepburn-Murphy – 6

He probably won’t like to get the tag of impact sub, but he is getting close to that territory. When he is given space, Hepburn-Murphy is electric, and he is adding the ruthlessness in front of goal that he needed to get to the next level.

Tyrese Shade – N/A