Cheltenham failed to follow on from their Manchester United style 2-1 win against Brighton, in which they scored twice in injury time, as they were comprehensively beaten 3-0 by Swindon at the County Ground.
Despite a bright start, in which Steve Brooker missed two good chances, and Dave Bird hit a post, the game changed when the usually reliable Alex Russell misplaced a pass. Sadly, this was in his own penalty area, and after the mix up, Simon Cox put Swindon ahead. Russell then seemed to think Cheltenham were still playing in red, as he hit dozens of passes to gleeful Swindon players, as Cheltenham got themselves in a muddle.
Thankfully the County Ground was a lot drier than the last time I visited, but still slightly cold, and Cheltenham's day got worse following yet another mix up, as again they tried to pass it out of the box. This time Billy Paynter was the recipient, scoring Swindon’s second, which was followed a bizarre celebration as Paynter pulled captain Hasney Aljofree's shorts down in front of a slightly bemused crowd.
While Cheltenham couldn't have been faulted for determination, Steven Gillespie especially, the killer touch was lacking, and any hopes of a comeback were dashed when Christian Roberts scored with practically his first touch after coming on. A good first touch it was too, firing an angled shot into the bottom left hand corner from long range.
So not as good a day as Cheltenham's last trip to the County Ground, and they'll need to pick themselves up for the game against Hartlepool on Saturday.
Meanwhile a good set of results for Forest Green's play off hopes meant nothing as they could only draw with Stevenage, although that in itself is a credible result. Rovers remain four points off top five, and still have to go to Cambridge.
JAMES LEWIS
No comments:
Post a Comment