Daniel Jebbison’s fifty-first minute strike sealed what was to be Cheltenham’s ninth draw of the 2021/22 EFL League One season and the eighth time that the robins have failed to see out a win having scored the first goal of the game. A week later and it happened all over again, Chuks Aneke finding the net in the fourth minute of added time to earn a 1-1 draw at Whaddon Road.
So far this season, Michael Duff’s side have lost twenty points through scoring first and going on to concede, a total that would leave the club in third and only two points off the automatic promotion places. The team's seeming obsession with seeing out 1-0 wins could be attributed to the manager’s Burnley days and their negative style of football, but in the third tier it is not working for the Gloucestershire side.
Burton Albion (twice), Oxford United, Lincoln City, Bolton Wanderers, Portsmouth, Sheffield Wednesday, Charlton and MK Dons have all picked up a point after conceding first to Cheltenham while Fleetwood remain the only team to go behind and turn it around to win. Add a point from the Fleetwood game and Cheltenham are a point above Sunderland, make it a win and the robins are top. A brighter note is that Cheltenham have only lost one game after scoring first, that being the Fleetwood defeat.
Be it Owen Evans or Scott Flinders between the sticks, only two league games have resulted in a shutout and clean sheet, so why the apparent fixation on sitting back and trying to defend the lead?
Without a doubt, Michael Duff is one of Cheltenham’s best ever managers, a true club legend, but his game management remains far below standard for what is needed and even expected for the club in League One. Which changes to make, and when to make them, are two aspects which so often cost points for the robins. Yesterday’s game was a perfect example. Charlton were no threat for the majority of the ninety minutes, passing backwards and sideways and passing off the pitch. It was 1-0 with five minutes to go when Charlie Raglan took to the pitch in place of Callum Wright. Surprise, surprise, Charlton went on to score - evidence to the fact that it doesn’t matter how many defenders are on the pitch, the success of seeing a game out against a poor side is minimal.
We don’t want to be too negative, the previous meeting with Charlton Athletic is a prime example of seeing out a win, albeit with a one goal deficit rather than the two we held at half time. The side saw out a 1-0 win over Accrington in October, however the opening goal came eleven minutes from time with little time for a reaction. The 1-0 win over Oxford United was similar with May finding the net on the sixty-eighth minute while at the Kassam, the robins took the lead on the fifty second minute and were pegged back to 1-1.
Cheltenham have scored seven opening goals in the opening twenty minutes before dropping points, with five draws and one loss, perhaps the secret is to simply not score in the first half?
So how do Cheltenham improve?
New arrivals in defence will be a good sign, keeping them on the bench, not so much. The departure of Chris Hussey was upsetting to see, but perhaps a forced change at the back is what is needed. The return of Boyle will also offer a chance of improvement with the captain chipping in with goals at one end and making life very difficult for the attackers down the other. Freestone also offers something, what it is we are not entirely sure. The youngster always looks to have a mistake in him but has also impressed, leading the way for defensive actions for U23 centre backs in the third tier.
The arrival of Williams will add competition and hopefully push all the defenders into gear, but it’s unfair to blame those at the back.
One also has to look at the protection offered from midfield. Ellis Chapman, Liam Sercombe, Elliot Bonds, Conor Thomas and Dylan Barkers have all featured in the middle of the pitch but none seem to offer what is precisely needed for the robins. A proper ball winning, defensive midfielder alongside a hardworking box to box man wouldn’t go amiss and would be sure to up the points tally moving forward.
Only having a one goal lead to defend is also not an ideal situation to be in, the strikers are doing well but not quite well enough. Callum Wright, as an attacking midfielder, does very well and brings a valuable eye for goal. Wright found the net versus Burton and had his shot parried to Nlundulu against Charlton. Kyle Vassell’s departure wasn’t a great loss with only two league goals.
No matter what, we’re in for a tenser than hoped end to the season with some fans seeing the relegation battle ahead. Before the campaign kicked off, we were all expecting it to be close, but as the season went on and the side picked up points we were looking at midtable or even higher. The dropped points from winning positions are hurting the club more and more with each game, no wins since November and within touching distance of the drop zone, we’re in for a close finish.
On a brighter note, the club are higher in the table than most expected and winning four points off the likes of Charlton is a great sign of success but it’s no doubt that something has to change, be it on the pitch or in the dugout, to see us winning games and picking up points like we know we can.
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