It was afternoon to forget for Cheltenham Town as they slipped to a 2-0 Coca-Cola League One defeat at Whaddon Road against Doncaster Rovers.
Lewis Guy's goal in first half injury time got the ball rolling for Sean O'Driscoll's team, who brought to an end to an eight-game winless run with this result . In truth, the home side made a decent fist of getting back on terms after the interval.
But as John Ward's side have found out to their cost this term, they cannot continue to make basic errors and a critical lack of communication between Shane Duff and Scott Brown with ten minutes remaining gifted Jonathan Forte and Doncaster a second goal which put paid to any come back.
Robins' boss John Ward welcomed Grant McCann and John Finnigan from international duty and suspension respectively; and restored his first choice central midfield pairing at the heart of his starting XI. David Bird stepped down to the bench while Craig Armstrong, who partnered the Cinderford-born midfielder in the 1-0 win at Yeovil, slotted in at left back at the expense of Mickey Bell.
Duff joined Gavin Caines in central defence having recovered from his Achilles injury to make his third start of the campaign in a four man back line and Brown continued to deputise for Shane Higgs in goal.
Rovers, who employed a 3-4-3 formation with Guy sitting behind Bruce Dyer and Jonathon Forte in attack, could have been in front in as early as the second minute.
Steve Roberts punched the ball forward and Guy turned quickly before lashing a shot past Brown's far post from 18 yards. Sean McDaid made a strong run down the left ten minutes later before cutting in and created an opportunity for Forte but his 16-yard effort took a vital deflection of Caines' chest for a corner that was eventually cleared to safety.
Brian Wilson provided the Robins first sight of goal with a raking shot from all of 30 yards that failed to trouble John Filan in the Doncaster goal.
The game was slow in getting started but Rovers began to make the extra man up front count and with 20 minutes played, Shane Duff glanced a menacing Brian Stock free-kick just over Brown's crossbar. The visitors kept the pressure on from the resulting corner kick and a searching run by McDaid down the left earned the midfielder a yard of space to whip in a strong cross, but Caines was on hand to block it with his chest and clear his line.
At the other end, a brave interception by Filan prevented Steve Guinan from meeting Melligan's outswinging delivery from the right.
And a couple of moments later, Brown sent a long punt downfield and Kayode Odejayi's feint flick header handed Guinan the opportunity to chance his arm from 18 yards, but the striker cleared the goal with his first time effort on the turn.
Cheltenham took a while to get to grips with Doncaster's shape but they began to get a foothold in the game as the half progressed and enjoyed their best spell of possession in the first half around about the half hour mark without really making an impact on the Doncaster goal.
Rovers went direct themselves with ten minutes of the first half remaining when a huge punt by Filan has touched on by Guy and Dyer blasted a half-volley a foot past the left upright, while Brian Stock's wild shot drifted high and wide a couple of moments later.
Cheltenham were not getting their wide men in behind the full backs and the pace and energy that the side boast was redundant in the first period and the home side were made to pay in the second minute of first half injury time.
Adam Lockwood sprayed the ball out to Bruce Dyer on the left touchline, who brought the ball down and centred. Armstrong cleared with his left foot at the far post but it came back out to the former Crystal Palace and Barnsley frontman who drilled it back in and Guy forced the ball over from close range. Brown immediately claimed that the striker handled the ball but his protest fell on deaf ears and Doncaster took a deserved one-goal advantage into the break.
Dyer blazed over, and McDaid drew a regulation save from Brown in the opening moments of the second half while Odejayi's first touch let him down five minutes after the restart when he was found in space by Wilson with his back to goal and six yards out. It gave Doncaster the opportunity to clear the danger.
Both goakeepers made comfortable saves when Odejayi and Dyer exchanged shots from 18 yards moments later but a decent move on the hour provided the Robins with their first real chance of the second period.
Melligan delivered a deep ball in from the right and Wilson found McCann with a back post header but the Irishman could not force the ball through a pair of defenders on the line.
Doncaster really should have doubled their lead in the 63rd minute when Brown spilled an angled shot by Guy but Forte fluffed the follow-up under pressure from Shane Duff, who made a telling intervention to concede a corner that came to nothing.
John Ward moved to make a double switch with 25 minutes remaining with Cheltenham beginning to take the game to Rovers. Steve Guinan and John Finnigan were withdrawn and Michael Townsend, who went to centre back allowing Caines to join the attack, and David Bird were sent on to invigorate the home side's challenge.
Substitute Theo Streete was adjudged to tugged at Odejayi with quarter of an hour remaining but Filan was equal to a disappointing Wilson free-kick from 20 yards that crept through the wall.
Ward's last throw of the dice came about with ten minutes remaining when he replaced Jerry Gill with Mickey Bell. The home side went to three at the back, pushing Bell on to the left hand side of a five man midfield but the move was in vein because a minute later, they were stunned by a route one sucker punch.
Filan launched an enormous downfield kick and a calamatous lack of communication between Duff and Brown allowed Forte to steal in between the pair and slide the ball home from ten yards to effectively settle the contest.
Caines and McCann had headed half chances while the makeshift striker and Bird fired over in the final minutes but the ball just wasn't going to find it's way past the impressive Filan today.
CHETENHAM TOWN (4-4-2): Brown; Gill (Bell 80), Duff, Caines, Armstrong; Melligan, Finnigan (c) (Bird 66), McCann, Wilson; Guinan (Townsend 66), Odejayi. Subs not used: Yao, Bell, Puddy (Gk).
DONCASTER ROVERS (3-4-1-2): Filan; Roberts (Streete 46), Lockwood, Lee (c); O'Connor, Green, Stock, McDaid; Forte, Guy, Dyer (Price 80). Subs not used: Thornton, McCammon, Heffernan.
REFEREE: A. Taylor (Greater Manchester)
ATTENDANCE: 3,872 (431 from Doncaster)