Swindon Town 3, Tranmere Rovers 1 (From This Is Wiltshire)

Swindon Town 3, Tranmere Rovers 1

4:53pm Saturday 9th August 2008

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Predatory first-half goals from strikers Billy Paynter and Simon Cox helped the rampant Robins get their League One campaign off to the perfect start against Tranmere.

Paynter's header (5), Cox's cool finish (37) and Jon-Paul McGovern's drive (51) put Swindon 3-0 up at the County Ground, before Bas Savage grabbed a consolation goal for woeful Rovers five minutes from the end.

Town got off to a dream start when Paynter put them ahead in only the fifth minute after a slick passing move.

The towering front-man out-jumped his marker to plant an eight-yard header inside the far post from Jon-Paul McGovern's pin-point cross, leaving Rovers goalkeeper John Achterberg rooted to the spot.

Tranmere battled back and Ian Moore broke the offside trap to latch onto George O'Callaghan's through ball but his lob over on-rushing Robins goalkeeper Peter Brezovan was headed off the goal-line by debutant Yinka Casal.

Charlie Barnett wasted a golden opportunity to equalise for Tranmere when he mis-kicked the ball when well-placed 15 yards out after latching onto Savage's header in the 36th minute.

And Cox made him pay by doubling Town's lead with a clinical one-on-one finish at the other end just a minute later.

The pacey striker raced onto Paynter's flick from Brezovan's long punt and drilled the ball low past Achterberg and into the corner of the net.

Tricky Swindon winger Anthony McNamee, who had terrorised Rovers full-back Godwin Antwi for the duration of the first half, forced Achterberg into a diving save with a 22-yard curler on the stroke of half-time.

But rampant Town didn't have to wait much longer to go further ahead as McGovern made it 3-0 six minutes after the break.

McNamee's low cross was missed by Swindon striker Cox but McGovern arrived late at the far post to drill the ball just over the line from six yards, despite Tranmere full-back Andrew Taylor's attempts to hack it clear.

O'Callaghan curled a 22-yard effort straight at Brezovan as Rovers tried to fight back, before Cox headed another McNamee cross inches wide at the other end in the 56th minute.

Tranmere's Craig Curran then rifled a 12-yard half-volley just wide before Barnett's rasping angled drive was well held by the diving Brezovan as Swindon sat back on their lead.

Cox almost made it 4-0 on the counter-attack midway through the second half after shrugging off a weak challenge from Rovers centre-back Ben Chorley and smashing a half-volley just wide of the post with Achterberg well beaten.

Town bossed the latter stages with debutant Lilian Nalis and Michael Timlin pulling the strings in midfield.

But Rovers grabbed a consolation goal on the counter-attack five minutes from the end when the unmarked Savage tapped in substitute Edrissa Sonko's low cross at the far post from three yards.

Swindon Town: Brezovan, J Smith, Timlin, Ifil, Aljofree (c), McGovern (Easton 88), McNamee, Casal, Nalis, Paynter (Peacock 78), Cox. Subs: P Smith, Easton, Joyce, Kennedy, Peacock.

Tranmere Rovers: Achterberg, Antwi (booked for foul 82), Taylor, Chorley, Kay (c), Savage, O'Callaghan (Sonko 60), Moore, Jennings, Barnett, Curran. Subs: Palethorpe, Greenacre, Ahmed, Sonko, Waterfall.

Referee: Mr F Graham.

Attendance: 7,975.

MATCH REACTION FROM ROBINS BOSS MAURICE MALPAS TO FOLLOW SHORTLY...

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