6:00am Friday 24th August 2012
HAVING only formed in 2004, MK Dons have visited Wiltshire just six times in their short history.
The Buckinghamshire side lost on their first trip to the County Ground back in 2004 as Sam Parkin and Brian Howard got the goals that handed the Robins a 2-1 win - a success made possible only by Rhys Evans’ penalty save when the match was still locked at 1-1.
Since then, however, Swindon have had little success on home turf against the team from the town of concrete cows.
In fact, of the following five meetings, the Robins have won just once - another 2-1 victory in September 2006 when Jack Smith and Paul Evans both netted from the penalty spot.
That match also featured the rare sight of Paul Ince in a Swindon shirt.
The former Manchester United and Liverpool man played 90 of his 153 minutes as a Robin during that game.
Ince, who a matter of days before joined the club as player-coach under Dennis Wise, would go on to leave Wiltshire at the beginning of October that year citing an inability to commute to the County Ground from his Cheshire home.
At the time, Wise said of Ince’s brief involvement with the club: “He doesn’t want to put himself into something that he is not 110 per cent behind and I respect him for that.
“He’s not going to move down this way because his family are settled.
“He tried to help me out and we remain good friends.
“It was difficult for him with the travelling and at his age he felt he had to remain closer to his family.
“He enjoyed being part of the squad but had to do what was right for him.”
Swindon have not won any of the three matches involving the sides at the County Ground since 2006.
Billy Paynter scored in a 1-1 draw in March 2009 but 252 minutes have elapsed since Town last scored against the Dons at home.
A goalless draw in August 2009, a game which was marred by a sickening clash of heads between Dons pair Mathias Doumbe and Dean Lewington, preceded a 1-0 home defeat in April 2011 which all but condemned Swindon to relegation from League One.
© Copyright 2001-2013 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk
http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/trade_directory/