IT’S hard to tell what sort of form Swindon Town are in approaching the double-header play-off semi final with Sheffield United this week.

Boss Mark Cooper has played a reserve side in two of the last three games including on Sunday at the County Ground when they earned an unlikely point against Leyton Orient, who were relegated at the end of the game.

Having paid £27 to watch the dross of the first half I can’t have been alone in contemplating an early exit when Orient made it 2-0 early in the second half and then hit the bar and the post immediately afterwards.

The Ferret & Firkin first XI would have put on a better show than Town in the opening 45 minutes when they were regularly carved apart by a strictly limited Orient who, but for some abject finishing, could have been three ahead at the break.

Watching the game of schoolyard tag when a marked Town defender (this week Sam Ricketts) manoeuvres to receive a pass from the keeper before inevitably making a hasty pass to a colleague, which even more inevitably finds its way back to the keeper only then to be lumped forward, is becoming tedious.

It is also suicidal.

The playing-from-the-back policy (with your less-gifted 2nd XI at least) led to the early penalty – brilliantly saved with his first touch by Cameron Belford – and also to the first goal when Rossi Branco was caught in possession.

Fifteen minutes into the second half there seemed no way back for 10-man Swindon. Then, with Lee Marshall warming up on the touchline ready to come on for either Anton Rodgers or Harry Agombar who had both been atrocious, we saw something magical.

John Swift rolled a free kick back a yard, Rodgers flicked it up with his toe and hammered the volley into the top corner from 20 yards. Brilliant.

Soon after, the now energised Rodgers was key in what would have been another goal-of-the-season candidate.

A blistering one touch move included an audacious first-time 25-yard volleyed pass with the outside of his right foot which dropped on Jack Barthram’s toes.

The midfielder's lightning cross found Swift in acres of space at the back post five yards out. A prod home would have finished off a glorious goal – he nudged it wide.

But suddenly a dire spectacle became an entertaining end-to-end drama with the atmosphere among the 1,000 plus Orient fans eerily reflecting what was going on elsewhere rather than on the pitch as they followed the fortunes of their relegation-challenged rivals.

Five minutes from time, captain-for-the-day Sam Ricketts and Swift engineered a penalty which was confidently put away by Andy Williams and the very creditable comeback was complete.

Now we face a knockout competition with cup specialists Sheffield Utd as our first opponents, with either Preston and Chesterfield further down the line at Wembley, if we get through with a place in the Championship.

That’s not too daunting a prospect.

We could probably all name nine or 10 of the Swindon starting line-up for the Bramall Lane clash – but it is all going to depend on whether the real Swindon Town turn up - and not the one of the last few weeks.