That Swindon Town’s first defeat of the League Two season came away at Notts County on Tuesday night did not really come as a surprise. Newly-promoted Notts are, after all, emerging as clear favourites for the fourth-tier title, top of the table and three points clear.
Swindon’s unbeaten run was always going to come to an end eventually. And you would hardly have got long odds on that maiden loss coming away from home at the league leaders. What did come as a surprise, however, is that Notts County managed to do what few others have managed so far in 2023/24.
They kept Dan Kemp quiet. And, make no mistake, that is certainly easier said than done.
Heading into that midweek trip to Nottingham, Swindon’s former West Ham United youngster had scored seven goals and set up five more in just nine league matches. The was a goal and an assist against Grimsby Town over the weekend.
Former West Ham starlet Dan Kemp in stunning form
“Dan Kemp has been very good for us,” Robins boss Michael Flynn told the Swindon Advertiser on Saturday evening. “He is scoring a lot of goals now and creating as well.
“I think his record in the last 23 or 24 games that he has played is unbelievable. So he deserves a lot of credit for keeping up that consistency.”
That Notts County reverse, however, goes down as a rare blot on both Swindon and Kemp’s copybook. The former England U20 international spent six years in the claret-and-blue of West Ham between 2015 and 2021. And, while Kemp has a long way to go before he can reach that level again, the feeling is in some quarters that, even if Swindon are not plying their trade at a higher level in 2024/25, arguably the most in-form footballer in the entirety of England’s fourth tier will be.
‘Unbelievable’
“There was one in that final game that I played against Swindon, the guy (Kemp) got it out of his feet and took a shot from about 22 yards and bent it round into the corner,” former Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster recalls, announcing his retirement in the aftermath of Wrexham’s 5-5 draw with Swindon in August.
“As he got it out of his feet, I couldn’t even read it.”
It’s safe to assume plenty of League Two goalkeepers know how Foster was feeling.
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