Dani Lopez in tears after seeing red in Swindon defeat

Swindon Town 3 Stevenage 0

npower League 1

DANI Lopez was sent off as Stevenage lost their second successive game against a team in the play-off places.

Last week Yeovil Town inflicted a 2-0 defeat on Graham Westley’s men on their home ground, and this weekend it was Swindon Town who were the victors as the Robins secured their place in the play-offs.

Lopez saw red for a first-half altercation with Swindon’s Alan McCormack, a decision which left the Spaniard in tears in the dressing room, and from then on Boro were always going to find it difficult against a side that had put four goals past them without reply back in October.

Westley shuffled his pack for this game with Chris Day, Miguel Comminges and Lee Hills coming in for Steve Arnold, David Gray and Filipe Morais, and it was Boro who had the first chance of note when a scramble in the Swindon box gifted Bondz N’Gala an opportunity to put his side ahead.

A ball into the box saw Mark Roberts flick a pass goalwards, and after taking a deflection the ball trickled through to N’Gala whose first effort was blocked before his second shot was saved at close range by Wes Foderingham.

Swindon took the lead midway through the first-half with a goal that stemmed from a free-kick on the left, just outside the Boro box.

The ball was sent in and cleared as far as McCormack whose mis-kick was directed into the path of Aden Flint who poked the ball home past Day for his first league goal of the season.

The hosts almost had a second but for a good stop by Day.

The Robins played a corner short, and when the ball was crossed to the far post it was headed back into the mix and up jumped Flint whose header was directed to just inside Day’s left-hand post before the goalkeeper, quickly down to his left, scooped the ball out to safety.

Boro’s job was made even more difficult when Lopez was then sent off seven minutes before the break following his reaction to an incident with McCormack in the Swindon penalty area, a decision which means the front man will miss this weekend’s last game of the season against MK Dons.

The home side doubled their advantage early in the second half. Andy Williams delivered a cross into the box from the left, and when the ball was played into the path of midfielder Gary Roberts he moved the ball on to his right foot and fired past Day from the edge of the area.

Swindon’s third of the afternoon came when, with Boro unable to clear a free-kick, a spot of head tennis ended with Darren Ward’s shot being blocked before Flint was on hand to fire home his second of the match.

This defeat means that Boro have conceded seven goals against the Robins this season without reply, and both this loss and the reversal last week against Yeovil will have left Westley with plenty to think about over the summer.

First though is the visit to the Lamex Stadium this weekend of Karl Robinson and his MK Dons side - it is a fixture that usually throws up all sorts of excitement.

Swindon: Foderingham, Flint, Devera, Ward, Byrne, Roberts (L Rooney 82), McCormack, Luongo, Williams (Waldon 86), De Vita, A Rooney (Collins 77). Subs not used; Bedwell, Ferguson, Francis, Jones.

Stevenage: Day, Hills (Haber 85), Comminges, Roberts, N’Gala, Grant (Charles 35), Dunne, Ehmer (Ball 75), Akins, Freeman, Lopez. Subs not used: Arnold, Gray, Mahon, Hoskins.

Ref: Sutton

Att: 9,515