Blues Visit Cheltenham Targeting First Win Tuesday, 17th Aug 2021 09:54 Town make their first visit to Cheltenham since their days as a Southern League club in the 1930s looking for their first victory of 2021/22. The Blues have drawn one - 2-2 at home to Morecambe - and lost one - Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Burton - of their opening two League One fixtures of the season, while last Tuesday’s Carabao Cup tie against Newport ended in a 1-0 reverse. Town manager Paul Cook has added two players since the loss to the Brewers, central defender Cameron Burgess and midfielder Tom Carroll. Cook has already confirmed that Burgess, who had a loan spell at Cheltenham in the second half of the 2015/16, will start at the heart of the defence, presumably alongside Luke Woolfenden, although recent signing George Edmundson is closing in his Town debut. Toto Nsiala is out with a hamstring injury and Janoi Donacien looks set to drop to the bench. Kane Vincent-Young will continue at right-back with Matt Penney probably at left-back, although Hayden Coulson is closing in on being ready for inclusion in the squad having spent time self-isolating prior to completing his loan move from Middlesbrough. Vaclav Hladky will be in goal. In midfield, skipper Lee Evans is again set to partner Rekeem Harper with new addition Carroll likely to be among the subs. Town could again be without the injured Conor Chaplin, James Norwood (both hamstring), Wes Burns and Sone Aluko, although Cook wouldn’t be drawn on whether any of them would be ready for the trip to Whaddon Road after the Brewers game.
Kyle Edwards made an impression when coming off the bench on his debut on Saturday and may well be handed his first start for the club, probably on the left with Armando Dobra dropping to the bench, which would be harsh on the Albanian U21 international, who has made a bright start to the season. Scott Fraser will probably continue on the right with Louie Barry playing off Joe Pigott up front. Like Town, Cheltenham have drawn one - 1-1 at Crewe - and lost one - 3-1 at home to Wycombe - in the league this season, while they won their Carabao Cup tie, beating Bristol Rovers 2-0 away. Manager Michael Duff knows the Blues will be expected to beat his side, who were promoted from League Two as champions. “They obviously have a top manager and the only reason he dropped into League One himself is for the opportunity that they are going to back him in the market which they've done,” he told Gloucestershire Live. “We will be right up against it, but this is why we tried to get out of the last league, for opportunities to play against a big club with a big support, even on a Tuesday night a million miles away. “Well, they are a million miles from everywhere, so I am sure their supporters are used to having to drive five or six hours on a coach. Embrace the challenge. We are at home, can we be competitive again? Hopefully.” He says it’s important not to treat the bigger teams in the division with too much respect. “That’s something we said on Saturday [ahead of the Wycombe game]. Don't play the team that's just come out of the Championship, it's just 11 men, the pitch is green, there are three blokes dressed in black running around annoying everyone and one ball. “Believe in what we do, don't worry too much about the opposition. We need to be aware of their threats and things like that, but ultimately we don't turn up, we'll get beat. “So we have to focus mainly on our performances and that's what the players have to do. I've told them a million times, they have to look after their performances and it's my job to look after results. “They don't need to worry about the result, but as long as they are looking after their performances and performing well and okay, then that's their job done.” He added: “I'd imagine if Ipswich aren't in the top two, they'll definitely be in the top six. Are we expected to be in the top six this year? I wouldn't have thought so. So it's just a realism to it. “It's alright having a free hit, but you still have to turn up and perform, which is ultimately what we will be trying to do: be competitive and see what we can achieve.”
Town and Cheltenham have never met in an EFL fixture with their only previous competitive fixtures having taken place in the Southern League in the Blues’ first two seasons as a professional club in which they achieved four wins out of four. In 1936/37 Town won 3-1 at Whaddon Road and 3-0 at Portman Road. The following year, the Blues were 3-1 victors at home and, in the most recent meeting between the teams, 2-1 winners away with Gilbert Alsop the scorer of both Town goals. Burgess made 17 starts for the Robins during his loan spell there, while another of the Blues’ summer signings, Burns, also had a stint with the Gloucestershire club, in the second half of 2014/15, scoring four goals in 14 matches. Tuesday’s referee is Peter Wright from Merseyside, who has shown 10 yellow cards and no red in three games so far this season. Wright has refereed only one previous Town match, the 2-1 defeat at Sunderland last year, in which he certainly made his mark, showing Andre Dozzell a controversial red card before awarding a similarly contentious penalty against Mark McGuinness, decisions then-manager Paul Lambert slammed as “absolutely incredible”. Squad from: Hladky, Holy, Vincent-Young, Donacien, Penney, Coulson, Burgess, Woolfenden, Ndaba, Edmundson, Evans (c), Harper, Carroll, El Mizouni, Fraser, Dobra, Edwards, Pigott, Bonne, Barry, Jackson.
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