Report: Robins 0-0 Accrington

11 February 2023

Cheltenham Town were held to a 0-0 draw by Accrington Stanley despite having the better of the chances.

With both teams finding themselves towards the bottom of the SkyBet League One table, the points were fought over hard but ended up being shared.

Wade Elliott made three changes to last week’s defeat to Bolton Wanderers. Aidan Keena was handed a starting debut, whilst Dylan Barkers made his first league start of the campaign and Liam Sercombe returning to the starting eleven.

The first opportunity of the match fell the way of the Robins. Quick feet from Sercombe helped him evade his marker, before laying the ball off to Keena. The Irishman fired a cross-field pass to Alfie May, who slid Taylor Perry through on goal. Lukas Jensen came out to narrow down the angle and got down well to parry the shot wide for a corner.

Shaun Whalley had the visitors’ first clear sight of goal after turning inside of Caleb Taylor. He lined a shot up with his left foot from the edge of the box, but his effort flew a couple of feet over the crossbar.

A counterattack lead by May and Perry nearly cut right through Accrington. Perry eventually slipped the ball round the corner for May to try and curl goalwards, but he could only find the side netting at the near post.

Just before half time the visitors had another good opportunity, this time falling the way of Sean McConville. After Rosaire Longelo crossed towards the back post, the ball fell kindly for the Accrington skipper, but his firm shot was straight at Luke Southwood, who was able to gather at the second attempt.

Within 60 seconds of the restart, Keena took advantage of a mix-up between two Accrington defenders and unselfishly laid the ball off to May, who was arriving late on the edge of the six yard box. However, May’s shot from close range flew past the right-hand post.

When Sercombe released Ryan Broom down the left wing, the Welshman decided to go it alone, beating his marker for pace before trying to squeeze a shot past Jensen at his near post, but the Accrington ‘keeper was able to beat the ball behind for a corner.

An inch-perfect pass from Sean Long was met by a delightful touch from Sercombe, who then shot across goal with Jensen at full stretch to keep it out.

A slick corner routine from the Robins ended with May looking to whip a shot into the far corner with his right foot. Jensen could only watch as the ball flashed towards goal, but was relieved to see it clear his post.

The Robins continued to have the better of the chances, with May going close once again with a good opportunity. Quick feet from Ryan Jackson saw him skip past the challenge of Sangare before delivering a low cross across goal. Stretching at the back post, May tried to prod the ball towards goal but Jensen was in the right place at the right time to save.

Despite causing some trouble from Jackson’s long throws, the Robins couldn’t quite find a finishing touch, and were eventually made to settle for the draw.

Robins: Southwood (GK), Long ©, Taylor, Raglan, Jackson, Broom, Barkers (Brown 74’), Sercombe, Perry (Olayinka 90’), May, Keena (Goodwin 66’)

Unused: MacDonald (GK), Baggott, Sambu, Norton

Accrington: Jensen (GK), Coyle, Whalley (Leigh 69’), McConville ©, Longelo, Sangare, Pressley (Butler-Oyedeji 69’), Martin, Quirk, Pickles, Fernandes

Unused: Isherwood (GK), Clark, Perritt, O’Brien, Woods

Referee: W Finnie

Attendance: 4325 (111 away)

Match Reports

Ticket News

Match Pack: Accrington Stanley (H)

8 February 2023

Cheltenham Town host Accrington Stanley on Saturday in Sky Bet League One at the Completely-Suzuki Stadium on Saturday (3PM KO).

Last time out at home, the Robins came away with a point after drawing to Port Vale, and now Wade Elliott's side will be striving for all three as they face the 'Owd Reds this weekend.

Tickets are still available, and prices vary with adult tickets ranging from £18-£26, students and over-65s between £13-£18, and £7-£10 for under-18s. Tickets are still available online, and are cheaper when purchased in advance, so grab yours today to save money.

The game is also Kids for a Quid, so all under-14 tickets are just £1 when purchased in advance.

Seats at the Completely-Suzuki Stadium, particularly in the Colin Farmer Stand, have been in exceptional demand this season, and Saturday’s match with Accrington is no exception. Thanks also in part to welcoming a large group from Tewkesbury Colts junior teams, we are down to just single seats remaining in the Colin Farmer for this weekend.

As a result, and in part down to the anticipated numbers from Accrington, we are pleased to be able to open part of the Hazlewoods Stand to home supporters, meaning Block 1 is now available to book online or via the Ticket Office.

Please note that for segregation reasons ticket holders for this area must still enter and exit via the Colin Farmer Stand turnstiles, and so for this match Gate 5 will be open for home supporters as well as Gate 4 being the usual entrance. Please be aware that pre-match and half time facilities will also be within the Colin Farmer Stand concourse.

If you are buying tickets in person, you can use cash or card from the sales point in the main car park.

Fans should arrive early to avoid queues, and any ticket changes should be made a day in advance due to the time it takes to alter tickets.

If you are unable to make the game, then listen to the action live on iFollow. The Audio Pass is available for UK fans, however supporters outside of the UK can watch it with the International Match Pass.

You can find the details to get to the Completely-Suzuki Stadium down below.

There will be no car parking available for the match, unless you have a car parking season pass.

The gates will open from 1:30PM. On arrival and around the ground, you will see our new food pods. These are cashless, and only card payments are accepted.

We have a new information hut at the ground, which is run by our supporter liason and disability assistance team. It's located in the car park on the right hand side as you enter, between the ticket collection booth and “Hungry Robins” outlet. The hut bears the logos of the Community Trust, Robins Trust, and Proud Robins, reflecting that we are all working together to support the club, represent fans and celebrate inclusion and diversity.

We aim to man the hut from around 1PM until just before kick-off on matchdays, and support with any disability assistance, provide access to free DAB radios, ear defenders and sensory packs, as well as taking bookings for our halftime cross bar challenge.

A new set of actions will be implemented across all English football leagues for the 2022/23 season and will be backed by the Football Supporters’ Association. They will target activity such as entering the pitch without permission, carrying or using smoke bombs or pyrotechnics and throwing objects - as well as drug use and discriminatory behaviour.