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Club News

In Focus: Fleetwood v. Robins

26 February 2013

Club News

In Focus: Fleetwood v. Robins

26 February 2013

Fan and columnist Murry Toms looks ahead to tonight's first ever trip to the Highbury Stadium.

Cheltenham Town once again hit the road tonight, heading north for the second time in three days to pay their first trip to Fleetwood Town's Highbury Stadium on the Fylde Coast.

The recently renovated ground, with a capacity of 5,094, is located a few miles from Blackpool on Lancashire’s coastline and becomes the latest footballing outpost for the Robins' hardy travelling support to pay a visit.

Saturday's journey up the M6 was a frustrating one, sharing the points with a determined Accrington Stanley side fighting for League Two survival.

Marlon Pack's brace made sure of a point but it couldn't prevent the Robins dropping to sixth, albeit only two points from the automatic places.

Meanwhile tonight's opponents had an exasperating afternoon of their own in Hampshire.

Defeat at lowly Aldershot on Saturday, their second in succession, left the Cod Army two points adrift of the play-off zone.

The 2011-12 Conference Champions finished the game with nine men after Jamie McGuire and Alan Goodall had been sent off to take their number of red cards to three in two games.

Promotion hopefuls Burton Albion had taken full advantage of goalkeeper Scott Davies' dismissal seven days earlier, coasting to a 4-0 success in Lancashire.

Boss Graham Alexander's side have amassed six wins and six draws in 17 matches at the Highbury Stadium, their home for almost 74 years.

The two sides have come face-to-face just once before, sharing an entertaining 2-2 draw at the Abbey Business Stadium earlier in the season.

Junior Brown's injury-time leveller denied ten-man Cheltenham all the points back in October.

David Ball had given his side a first-half lead, and goals by Jeff Goulding and Sido Jombati looked good enough for a win before all the late drama.

Fleetwood though are without a goal in two games going into this one and will look to their strike force to end their recent drought.

Brown, an England C international, has top scored with nine goals this term.

Former Stoke City, Preston North End and Cardiff City front man Jon Parkin has chipped in with seven while David Ball, a product of the Manchester City youth system, has added five.

Former Robin Steven Gillespie has made 23 appearances this campaign, 15 from the bench and has four goals to his name. 

He featured as a substitute in Saturday's reverse at the EBB Stadium and could face his old club tonight.

Cheltenham have won only once in six league matches on the road since coming from 2-0 down to defeat Northampton Town at Sixfields on December 8.

Victory in Southend a fortnight ago took Cheltenham back into the automatic promotion places, but they have been left to rue recent disappointments at Rochdale, Oxford United and Dagenham and Redbridge in recent times.

Their sixth away success of the season tonight could move them back into the top three, depending on the outcome of Burton Albion's match against Morecambe at the Pirelli Stadium.

A win for Fleetwood would boost their back-to-back promotion credentials with only 13 games to go of an intriguing campaign.

It has all the makings of another tense evening for the Cheltenham faithful.

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