CHANCES came and went, but Swindon Town were ultimately held to an unremarkable goalless draw against League Two newbies Oldham Athletic at the County Ground, taking their League Two points tally to 16 after their opening 10 fixtures.

Having put in their most clinical performance of the season at Huish Park against a below-par Yeovil Town just seven days earlier, Town fans had every reason to be optimistic.

But missed chances, last-ditch tackles and blocked shots denied either side a way into the game as Luke McCormick registered his fourth clean sheet from five games since replacing Lawrence Vigouroux as Swindon’s first-choice goalkeeper.

At the other end, the form of Marc Richards will continue to be a concern. The 36-year-old again failed to find the back of the net and was limited in the number of chances on goal.

Elijah Adebayo’s relentless work also went without reward while Toumani Diagouraga proved himself to be a troublesome character for Oldham, regularly calming the game down and providing accurate passes to the players around him.

However, there was frustration for manager Phil Brown after influential winger Matt Taylor was shown a straight red card – Swindon’s fourth in 10 league games this season – after committing a professional foul on Christopher Missilou in injury time at the end of the second half.

Missilou broke free after receiving the ball in the centre circle and was tripped by Taylor with only McCormick in front of him – meaning Town’s left back now faces an automatic three-match suspension.

With both Michael Doughty and Scott Twine ruling themselves out of contention for selection, Brown unsurprisingly made no changes to the team that had put three goals past Yeovil last weekend.

Swindon were first to threaten when striker Adebayo coasted towards the edge of the 18-yard box after winning a header - his weak right-footed effort trickled wide of Daniel Iversen’s left post though.

A subdued 10-minute period followed, during which Town only threatened with crosses from either side of the pitch that resulted in no end product.

James Dunne and Steven Alzate benefited from Diagouraga’s centre circle build-up play on 23 minutes as they combined to allow Keshi Anderson to try his chance – though his ambitious effort went wide.

Oldham immediately responded with a chance of their own when Ishmael Miller headed down from a cross to tee up Chris O’Grady.

O’Grady’s shot was deflected wide for a corner, which Town comfortably dealt with as Anderson eventually cleared.

Alzate’s patience on the ball gifted then Oldham a free kick from a dangerous position on the right after the Town playmaker lost possession after initially receiving the ball.

Persistent defensive work from Anderson saw efforts from Gardner, Taylor and Missilou all blocked before Town eventually cleared their lines.

The visitors responded though as McCormick drifted from his goal line to punch a floating cross clear.

His punch fell straight to the feet of Rob Hunt. Despite only having two defenders to beat on Town’s goal line, Hunt blasted his effort into the Town End as the game remained 0-0.

Sid Nelson then granted Oldham a debatable free kick with minutes remaining in what was a slow-paced opening half.

Missing Olly Lancashire – who was changing his shirt – Town were caught out by Miller’s quick run down the right before Andy Taylor’s strike was blocked and then cleared to end the first half.

The visitors were presented with their first meaningful chance of the second half on 50 minutes when a free kick from 25 yards was struck wide by Dan Gardner.

Dunne then advanced into Oldham’s area before creating a chance for Woolfenden, whose effort was deflected wide for a corner – from which Taylor’s powerful strike after an initial clearance went wide.

The game took a sudden change in pace – prompting Brown to make his first substitution, with Jermaine McGlashan replacing Richards on the hour mark.

Adebayo almost got on the end of Dunne’s header following a clearance from a corner, but his toe poke was saved by Iversen as Oldham remained on the back foot.

Town’s next chance came on 69 minutes when McCormick’s goal kick was flicked on by Adebayo before falling to the feet of Alzate.

Alzate advanced forward before trying his chance from range with Iversen fractionally off his line - the midfielder’s effort was hit high and wide though.

Amid Town’s resurgence up front, Callum Lang continued to cause issues for a tired-looking Luke Woolfenden on the left wing.

Lang eventually skipped past McGlashan before his searching low cross evaded all of Athletic’s forward men, granting Town a lifeline.

Absent drama from the game's opening 90 minutes was made up for in injury time when Missilou was tripped in the centre circle by Taylor when advancing with the ball with only McCormick in front of him.

Taylor was unsurprisingly shown a straight red card before a brawl started with Town centre-back Nelson at the centre of the action as several Athletic players swarmed the Millwall loan signing.

From the free kick, Oldham almost snatched a late winner when Jose Baxter's header down was struck by O'Grady.

However his effort from eight yards was blasted over McCormick's crossbar.

Two points dropped, but perhaps a point gained as Town ended the game having missed chances of their own but also rode their luck at times as Oldham struggled to find the target.