Cheltenham Town 1-1 Ipswich Town - Match Report Monday, 10th Apr 2023 17:08 Town’s winning and clean sheet runs came to an end and the Blues missed out on a chance to go top as Cheltenham netted six minutes from time to grab a 1-1 draw at Whaddon Road. Conor Chaplin put Town, who are down to third, ahead in the 64th minute with his 22nd goal of the season but Alfie May claimed an equaliser for the Robins on 84 with the Blues having previously looked to be seeing the game out for a ninth successive win. Town made one enforced change from Friday’s 4—0 home victory over Wycombe with Marcus Harness coming in for Nathan Broadhead, who suffered a knock to the ankle he twisted after being tackled from behind at Derby during the game against the Chairboys. The Robins made three changes from the team which lost 2-0 at Lincoln on Friday with Lewis Freestone, Will Goodwin and Elliot Bonds coming into the team for Caleb Taylor, Aidan Keena and Glen Rea, who all dropped to the bench alongside one-time Blues youngster Charlie Brown. In windy conditions, the Blues started on the front foot and went close to going in front in the sixth minute, Harness playing in Harry Clarke on the right of the box but the former Arsenal man’s cross was just beyond George Hirst and the ball was nodded behind Ryan Broom. From the resultant corner, Clarke looped a header over, off a defender the Town fans behind the goal claimed, but referee Sebastian Stockbridge felt otherwise. Moments later, Tom Bradbury became the first player to get his name in Stockbridge’s book for holding on to Hirst’s shirt even after the official had blown his whistle. In the aftermath of the free-kick, skipper Sam Morsy hit a low shot through to home keeper Luke Southwood. In the ninth minute Cheltenham manager Wade Elliott joined his player in the book for continuing his protests regarding Bradbury’s caution. Two minutes later, Christian Walton was forced into his first save of the game, diving down to his right to save Freestone’s header from Liam Sercombe’s right-sided corner. On 16, with the Blues having been a little disjointed with the wind having an impact, Burns burst away on the right before hitting a low shot which failed to trouble Southwood. Three minutes later, Town created their first real opening. Hirst laid the ball off to Chaplin on the edge of the box and the Blues’ 21-goal top scorer back-heeled it into the path of Harness, who scraped his shot well wide when he will feel he should have done better. In the 20th minute, Burns was sent away on the right and cut across, probably towards Hirst, but Chaplin awkwardly shot well over. There was a big scare for the Blues in the 23rd minute when James Olayinka found his way past a number of Town players and into the area before finding May, March’s League One Player of the Month, on the left of the box from where he sent across a low ball which just went past the far post with no one able to add the final touch and end the Blues’ lengthy spell without conceding. Moments later, May smashed a low 30-yard free-kick well wide. After a controversial incident in the Town half in which referee Stockbridge gave a handball against the Robins when the ball had clearly struck one-time Robins loanee Cameron Burgess’s hand, the Blues had the ball in the net, Hirst tapping home Leif Davis’s low cross but with the linesman’s flag having been raised against the former Leeds man as he chased Luongo’s ball down the left. In the 33rd minute, Hirst shot from the right of the area through to Southwood with the Blues continuing to prod and probe while dominating possession. Three minutes later, Morsy was booked for a foul on Olayinka inside the centre circle, the Town captain’s 10th yellow card of the season and first since February 25th but with it now taking 15 to warrant a suspension. The Blues’ goal came under threat in the 40th minute when Goodwin won the ball from Davis on the right and gave it to Broom, who played a low cross into the box with the Town defence hesitant but Luke Woolfenden smashed behind with May lurking. A minute later, Town broke forward to the other end, Hirst feeding Chaplin on the edge of the box but the former Pompey man scuffed wide. Ben Williams shot well over from distance for the Robins after a long throw had been cleared as the half moved into its penultimate minute. In two minutes of injury time, Massimo Luongo sought to bundle his way into the area but his stabbed effort was easy for Southwood. Seconds before the whistle, Town should have taken the lead. Davis sent over a long throw from the left, Clarke flicked on, it caught a defender and landed at the unmarked Burns’s feet but the Welshman shot too close to Southwood when he should have scored. The game had followed the expected pattern with the Blues dominating but with Cheltenham putting up stiff resistance and causing Town a few problems, while the wind had also hampered Kieran McKenna’s men at times. The Blues, who had taken their time without conceding to 911 minutes, had created two big opportunities, Harness’s scuffed effort and Burns’s miss just before the break. Both sides made changes ahead of the second half, Kyle Edwards taking over from Harness for the Blues and Taylor Perry taking over from Sercombe for the home team. Cheltenham won an early corner following which Olayinka crossed from the right and home skipper Sean Long headed wide. However, referee Stockbridge gave a corner much to the annoyance of the Town fans and players. After weathering another corner and a long throw from the home side, Town threatened for the first time since the break, but Chaplin scuffed wide from the edge of the area with Town’s shooting having been poor all afternoon. On 59, a corner on the left was played to Morsy on the edge of the box from where the Egypt international clipped a cross towards the far post but just over Burgess. A minute later the Blues hit the woodwork. Edwards brought the ball forward from deep and played it to Hirst to his left on the edge of the box from where the on-loan Leicester man curled a shot which beat Southwood but struck the bar. Edwards was making an increasing impact and in the 62nd minute, the former West Brom man burst forward before curling a shot wide. Cheltenham made a double change ahead of the goalkick, Keena and Taylor replacing Freestone and Goodwin. Two minutes later, the Blues took the lead. Clarke sent over a long throw from the right, it missed everyone and landed at Chaplin’s feet and the forward gratefully tapped home his 22nd goal of the season - and third in three games - with Southwood not moving to send the 1,509 fans behind the goal wild chanting ‘We are top of the league’ with results elsewhere going in the Blues’ favour. Town went looking for another goal, Hirst shooting over in the 68th minute from the edge of the area. Cheltenham swapped Williams for Will Ferry on 70, then Town switched Hirst and Burns for Freddie Ladapo and Kayden Jackson two minutes later. The former Accrington man might have doubled the Blues’ lead on 78 when a Davis free-kick from the right was knocked down to him but his effort bounced into the ground and over. Town were looking comfortable as the game moved into its final 10 minutes, Edwards shooting through to Southwood on 82 having been fed in by Chaplin on the left of the box. However, two minutes later, the Robins levelled and ended the Blues’ long run without conceding at 949 minutes. Walton came out of his goal to deal with a Broom long ball down the middle challenging with sub Keena with the wind holding it up in the air, but without getting anything on it. The ball ran loose to May with the keeper out of his goal and the forward took a touch before slamming his 17th goal of the season into the net. Town set about restoring their advantage in the remaining minutes. Moments before the fourth official indicated five additional minutes, Janoi Donacien took over from Davis, who had undergone treatment earlier in the half, with Clarke moving to the left. The Blues huffed and puffed in injury time as they looked for a winning goal but it was Cheltenham fans cheering at the whistle. A frustrating afternoon for Town who looked to have done the hard part when Chaplin put them in front. From there, they looked to be seeing the game out comfortably until the probably wind-affected error which led to the goal with Walton having no need to come for the ball with Woolfenden there to challenge with Keena. The result means Town are still to win at Whaddon Road since 1938 and haven’t beaten Cheltenham in the last two seasons in League One. The Blues miss out on a chance to go top and are now third with Plymouth having lost 2-0 at home to Lincoln, while Sheffield Wednesday return to the top having beaten Accrington 3-0 at Hillsborough. Fourth-placed Barnsley beat Shrewsbury 2-1 at Oakwell to move four points away from Town. The run of wins ended at eight and clean sheets at nine but the Blues are still unbeaten in 13. Town are next in action at home to Charlton Athletic on Saturday with another Portman Road fixture against Port Vale a week on Tuesday. Cheltenham: Southwood, Long (c), Bradbury, Freestone (Keena 62), Broom, Sercombe (Perry 46), Bonds, Williams (Ferry 70), Olayinka, May, Goodwin (Taylor 62). Unused: MacDonald, Rea, Brown. Town: Walton, Clarke, Woolfenden, Burgess, Burns (Jackson 72), Morsy (c), Luongo, Davis, Chaplin, Harness (Edwards 46), Hirst (Ladapo 72). Unused: Hladky, Donacien, Ball, Humphreys. Referee: Sebastian Stockbridge (Tyne and Wear). Att: 5,445 (1,509).
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