On-loan striker Tom Denton scored twice as Cheltenham Town Reserves defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers Reserves 3-1 at the Abbey Business Stadium this afternoon.
The Cheltenham team included two trialists - former Crawley Town and Hampton & Richmond midfielder Antone Douglas and French central defender Youness Bengelloun, whose most recent club was Olympiakos Nicosia in Cyprus.
Non-contract defender Ajet Shehu played in the centre of defence alongside Bengelloun, while Marley Watkins returned to action after a bout of illness. Douglas played wide on the left of midfield with Watkins on the right and David Hutton up front alongside Denton.
The big Huddersfield Town striker had the first chance of the game when his close-range shot was saved by Wolves goalkeeper Sam East after six minutes. Hutton saw a low shot saved shortly afterwards but Cheltenham goalkeeping coach Barry Richardson was called into action to make a double save on 20 minutes when he parried a shot from striker James Spray and pushed an effort from the rebound by Nathaniel Mendez-Laing over the bar.
Cheltenham opened the scoring on 25 minutes when Denton met a cross from Jack Durrant with his head. The initial effort was blocked by a defender but Denton followed up to score.
The second goal arrived just before half-time when Cheltenham won a free-kick on the edge of the box and young left-back Josh Quaynor fired it around the defensive wall and low just inside the far post.
Wolves started the second half strongly and pulled one back when Spray touched in from a cross by Mendez-Laing. Midfielder Nathan Rooney then hit the base of a post with a shot from the edge of the box.
Richardson made another good save from Spray and striker Bence Szabo headed wide before Denton made the game safe for Cheltenham eight minutes from time, heading in from a Cathal Tosh cross to make it 3-1.
CHELTENHAM TOWN RESERVES (4-4-2): Richardson; Durrant, Shehu, Bengelloun, Quaynor; Watkins, Emery, Lewis (Tosh 58), Douglas; Hutton (Waters 65), Denton. Other subs: Perry (Gk), Fawke, Sauntson, Hamilton
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS RESERVES (4-4-2): East; Price, Griffiths, Ebanks-Landell, Metcalf; Mendez-Laing, Rooney (Harris 61), Davies, Hemmings; Szabo (Rooney 71), Spray. Other sub: Stoianovic (Gk)
