A sprinkling of snow over Wiltshire in the afternoon, a downpour over Swindon Town at night. First there was one goal, then two, three and four – Pep Guardiola must have felt pretty comfy on that couch, all things considered.
If his absence with a bout of Covid made for an awkward preparation to this clash of unequals, then there the difficulties ended for Manchester City. They came here to win well and they got what they came for.
But good for Swindon – that it was only four really ought to be a source of some pride. For them and anyone these days.
Cole Palmer, 19, produced an outstanding performance and scored in the 4-1 win for Manchester City against Swindon
Bernardo Silva gave the visitors the lead with a simple finish from a couple of yards out for the Covid-affected visitors
Harry McKirdy grabbed a consolation goal back for Swindon in the second half, much to the delight of the home fans
Gabriel Jesus cashed in on some sloppy passing in the Swindon defence to double City’s lead just before the half-hour mark
Across City’s past six wins in a streak of 11 in the Premier League, they have a goals aggregate of 21-4, with six put on Leicester, four on Newcastle and seven on Leeds. Four is good going in that company, let alone from a position 72 places to the south in the pyramid. And when City pick a side as strong as this? Well, small glories take over in such thin air, so to get one back, as Swindon did, will have to suffice for romance.
But it was a stroll, in truth. Bernardo Silva had City set well inside quarter of an hour, Gabriel Jesus made it 2-0 before the half was out and Ilkay Gundogan added a third with a nice free-kick. Steady, easy, all the possession kind of stuff. Jesus even missed a penalty, and briefly Swindon’s fans sang, ‘How s*** must you be, it’s only 3-0.’
A dangerous taunt, but marvellously followed up by Harry McKirdy dragging it to 3-1. He scored four against Northampton last time out, but not all goals weigh the same, you might say. Cole Palmer, excellent in all aspects of his play, made it 4-1 to kill off what dreams had lingered from that interruption. A fine young player of 19 and a decent party-wrecker, it would seem.
Rodolfo Borrell, standing in for Guardiola, who was one of 21 City staff and players missing with the virus, said: ‘Cole is a huge talent. That is no secret. It’s difficult to give him more minutes because of the competition (for places) but it is about being patient and using these opportunities consistently. He has a huge quality.’
For Swindon, absent from the third round of the competition for a full 10 years, there was success in getting this far. Perhaps the same could be said of their very survival as a club, what with their strife in recent years.
Going back to July, they were a freshly-relegated unit with only six first-team players and no manager, chief executive or shirt sponsor. Under the fresh ownership of Clem Morfuni, a former plumber-turned-millionaire businessman, they have since reduced their off-field issues, and his appointment of Ben Garner as manager has seen them punching well at fifth in League Two.
They play nice football, as per Garner’s style. They tried it here, too. Passes, rotating roles around midfield – all of that. But if upsets of the clichéd style call for brutes and lumpy pitches, the risk of a pounding quite possibly goes up when you dare to dance with an authentic behemoth of a club on a nice surface.
But the Brazilian later spurned a penalty won in the second half, hitting a soft shot which was parried by Lewis Ward
McKirdy was ecstatic after scoring for Swindon to cut the deficit down to two goals with 12 minutes remaining in the tie
Swindon ‘keeper Ward did his best to prevent an embarrassing scoreline with a series of saves from the top-flight champions
But where is the thrill in ducking for cover? Garner for one was positively bullish when he saw the team put out by Guardiola from home. ‘You want to play against their top players,’ Garner said shortly before kick-off. ‘We were delighted when we saw the team.’
Maybe. And maybe that feeling subsided quickly. Indeed, Swindon’s first touch of the night came after almost a minute, and that was a deflection of some desperation to prevent Palmer from scoring. Within a further four minutes Silva and Joao Cancelo had both taken a decent look at goal.
Swindon’s fans did what they could, booing each City touch. The issue with that, of course, was the workload – City were holding around 80 per cent of possession. The first goal to come from it arrived after 14 minutes, when Palmer skipped around Ellis Iandolo before threading a killer ball for Silva to tap in from two yards.
Jesus scored the second after Swindon were trapped playing out from the back and Gundogan scored direct from a free-kick just shy of the hour. A fourth was prevented when Lewis Ward saved Jesus’s penalty after Silva was brought down by Jordan Lyden, which teed up McKirdy to have his moment. He took it, before Palmer took it right back.
Garner said: ‘The league is our bread and butter and we will push on with optimism for the rest of the season. It was a fantastic night for the club. The most important thing was that it was for the supporters who have been through a tough time. It was about them, watching us against the Premier League champions.’
City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan made it three for City when he scored direct from a free-kick just shy of the hour mark
Cole Palmer, excellent in all aspects of his play, made it 4-1 to kill off what dreams had lingered for the home outfit
Assistant Rodolfo Borrell (L) was in charge of City as Pep Guardiola (R) was out after contracting Covid-19 during the week
Re-live how the action unfolded with Sportsmail’s Richard Martin
A thoroughly entertaining game of football comes to an end. City put on a show after fielding a pretty strong team but it was one of their fringe players, Cole Palmer, who gave the best performance. Swindon gave a good account of themselves and at least got to celebrate a goal against the Premier League leaders when McKirdy struck.
Ward completes a special performance in the Swindon goal with perhaps his best save yet, flying across goal to tip a rocket from Rodri on to the crossbar.
Cole Palmer leaves the pitch after a sensational individual display and Nathan Ake joins him. Brazilian forward Kayky, 18, replaces Palmer while Luke Mbete, also 18, comes on in defence.
Palmer has been threatening to score all night and finally does so, causing yet more havoc down the right wing and smashing the ball high into the net. A thoroughly deserved first FA Cup goal for the 19-year-old and you get the feeling it won’t be his last.
McKirdy’s goal has given Swindon a bit of belief and they are keen to capitalise on the momentum. They win a free-kick in a good position after Kyle Walker gives away a foul and is shown a yellow card, but Romoney Crichlow can’t direct his header on target.
Swindon have the goal their fans craved! McKirdy, typically, is the one who scores, latching on to a through ball and confidently striking the ball first time and low inside the near post. To tell the truth, City ‘keeper Steffen should do a lot better and is easily beaten at his near post. But Swindon certainly deserved something to shout about given how they’ve equipped themselves against this all-conquering City side.
Palmer takes matters into his own hands this time but fires just over the bar after cutting in from the right wing
Fresh from saving Jesus’ penalty, Ward makes another good save, this time thwarting Gundogan with his legs. Once again, the danger came about from a marauding run by Cole Palmer
Cole Palmer is really enjoying himself out there and is just toying with the Swindon defence. He cuts his way down the left wing again and sends the ball back across the box to McAtee, but his fellow teenager can’t get enough control on his first-time strike and it comfortably misses the target.
Kevin De Bruyne comes off for City, not long after receiving a blow to the head. The Belgian is replaced by 19-year-old James McAtee.
Tyreece Simpson appeals for a penalty after going down from a challenge in the area but it’s a bit of a half-hearted appeal and the referee is not convinced
The Spanish midfielder is shown a yellow card for pushing over Kaine Kesler
Gabriel Jesus checks his run up and doesn’t get much power on his spot-kick, while Swindon ‘keeper Lewis Ward guesses the right way to turn the shot away. A big roar comes out from the home fans, who finally have something to shout about.
Ilkay Gundogan shows his craft to bend a free-kick around the Swindon wall and into the near corner. It’s not the best defending from the hosts and poor organisation from them, but you also have to admire the German’s shooting ability. City are well on their way to the fourth round now.
Cole Palmer goes for goal and his shot takes a deflection on its way to clipping the crossbar. City win a corner but nothing comes of it.
Despite what happened in the first half with Jesus’ goal, Swindon are still willing to play the ball out from the back and take risks early in this second half.
The half-time whistle goes at the County Ground and Swindon will be relieved to hear it as City were really threatening to score a third. It’s still a healthy lead for the visitors and they’ll be confident of seeing out the victory in the second half. Only the most optimistic of Swindon fans will believe they can come back here.
Joao Cancelo has another go from outside the box and this is a much better effort which just misses the top corner. The ball then drifts into the other side of the net and for a moment ‘GOAL’ flashes across the ITV screen and a few City fans down the other end of the pitch also thought it was a goal. It could hardly have been closer.
The hosts have an effort cleared off the line. McKirdy puts in a dangerous cross towards the far post but Kyle Walker is there to scramble the ball away.
City goalkeeper Zack Steffen almost made a howler himself when on the ball, sending a pass straight to the feet of Harry McKirdy. But the Swindon striker can’t get enough height on his attempted lob and Steffen leaps to catch the ball and snuff out the danger. He then raises his hands to apologise to his team-mates for nearly getting them into trouble.
Perhaps we cursed them. Swindon play the ball out from the back again, this time from a goal kick, and Jesus charges down a defender to steal the ball. Kevin De Bruyne then plays it back to the Brazilian, who promptly fires into the bottom corner to double City’s lead.
Man City press Swindon deep into their own half but the League Two side don’t panic at all and calmly pass their way out of pressure in their own area. Impressive stuff from Ben Garner’s side.
A third attempt of the game already for the Portuguese, who can’t keep his volley below the bar.
That’s Bernardo’s eighth goal of the season and his first in cup competition. But he hadn’t scored in his previous six outings and will be delighted to be amongst the goals again. He last scored when he bagged a double in the 3-1 win at Watford at the start of December.
The visitors take the lead. It’s a brilliant piece of play from Cole Palmer, who dances past a defender on the right hand side of the box and rolls the ball right into the path of Silva, who can hardly miss from a couple of yards out.
The Portuguese tries his luck from outside the box after cutting inside on to his right foot but the shot skids just wide
That’s the first opportunity for Swindon as they work the ball down the left hand side and send a cross in towards Jordan Lyden, but the Australian can’t get any contact on the ball due to some tight marking from Cancelo.
Bernardo Silva goes even closer for the visitors, dinking a low cross from Joao Cancelo over the crossbar. His face says it all and the home fans mock him by chanting ‘Who are Ya’ at the Portuguese
Swindon have registered their first sell out of the season for tonight’s game, with 15,000 fans (including a sizeable Man City contingent) cramming into the County Ground tonight. The League Two side normally get around 9,000 fans per game
City have their first attempt within a minute of kick off as Cole Palmer sees a shot deflected behind for a corner
We have kick off at the County Ground and these Swindon fans are certainly up for the Cup
Swindon fans sing, holding a tin foil FA Cup ahead of the English FA Cup third round football match between Swindon Town and Manchester City at County Ground, Swindon in western England on January 7, 2022. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Swindon coach Ben Garner said his side welcomed the sight of so many top players when they saw the City line-up.
‘It’s what we wanted, when the draw was made and you get drawn with Manchester City you want to play against their top players,’ he told ITV.
‘We were delighted when we saw the team, for some of these players this will be the biggest game of their careers.’
Whatever happens on the pitch, this will be a night to savour for Swindon, especially considering they were on the brink of going out of business only six months ago.
The club looked back on a testing year in an emotional post on Twitter earlier today
Cole Palmer is the only City player in the line-up tonight who is not yet a full international. He is an England under-21 regular, however, and has scored twice in his last four matches in Euro 2023 qualifiers.
McKirdy is in prolific form at the moment after scoring four goals in the 5-2 thrashing of Northampton on New Year’s Day. The 24-year-old came through the youth academies of Stoke City and Aston Villa, joining Swindon on a one-year deal last summer after being released by Port Vale.
SWINDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 01: Harry McKirdy of Swindon Town celebrates after scoring his fourth and his sides fifth goal during the Sky Bet League Two match between Swindon Town and Northampton Town at The Energy Check County Ground on January 01, 2022 in Swindon, England. (Photo by Pete Norton/Getty Images)
Here is the Swindon starting 11. Forwards Tyreece Simpson and Harry McKirdy have scored 17 league goals between them this season
City teenager Cole Palmer starts in attack alongside Jesus and it’s another big opportunity for the 19-year-old to impress. He scored in the 6-1 hammering of Wycome in the Carabao Cup and also netted in the Champions League, scoring a lovely solo goal in the 5-1 drubbing of Club Brugge. This is his fourth start in all competitions.
Despite all the turmoil with the Covid outbreak at City, they have still managed to name a pretty strong side, with Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin de Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Gabriel Jesus all starting.
Good evening and welcome to Sportsmail’s live coverage of Swindon v Manchester City in the FA Cup third round
Sportsmail Reporter
Host commentator