Full-time: Robins 0, York City 0
Cheltenham Town maintained their undefeated record at York City’s Bootham Crescent ground with this hard-fought draw in difficult conditions.
The Robins have not lost at this traditional venue in six previous visits and defended well enough to earn a point, without creating enough in attack to come home with all the points.
They now travel to Bristol Rovers on Tuesday evening in search of their first win since Boxing Day.
Manager Mark Yates made three changes to the side that held Northampton Town last weekend.
In came Steve Elliott, Jermaine McGlashan and Jason Taylor and out went Sido Jombati, Sam Deering and Kemar Roofe.
McGlashan slotted in behind the front two at the tip of the midfield diamond, with Lee Lucas at its base.
Meanwhile the hosts made one change, recalling Michael Coulson to the left-hand side of a four-man midfield.
Russ Penn skippered the Minstermen in central midfield and was typically combative from the kick, off and found himself in the book with ten minutes on the clock, upending McGlashan after initially surrendering possession to the pacey wideman.
Keith Lowe also started, at right back, and went close to forcing a save with a header at the end of the first half.
The popular duo made the switch to Bootham Cresent in the January transfer window and were given a warm welcome by the 172 Cheltenham supporters on a bitterly cold afternoon.
The first had was attritional stuff in difficult conditions, Cheltenham playing with a strong wind in the first 45 minutes.
Wes Fletcher was handed the first chance of the afternoon, but Elliott recovered well to block the striker’s strike at full stretch in the seventh minute.
Cheltenham’s only chance of note arrived mid-way through the first half, Matt Richards whipping in a free-kick from the right but Elliott’s glancing header dropped inches wide of the left upright.
Lucas went into the book ten minutes for a poor challenge on Penn, who blasted one over shortly afterwards from distance.Â
The young Swansea loanee was joined in the book by Jason Taylor as half-time approached for hauling down Ben Davies 22 yards from goal.
However Scott Brown produced a fine double save to preserve parity at the break, first pushing away Coulson’s free-kick before blocking Ryan Bowman’s follow-up.
McGlashan burst through the middle immediately after the change of ends but Nick Pope, the York number one, dropped to save at his feet.
But the Minstermen started the second half purposefully, and Michael Ihiekwe inadvertently headed John Carson’s corner on the top of the bar three minutes after the restart.
McGlashan became the fifth player, after John McCombe, to be cautioned for a trip on Penn to hand Carson a shooting chance from 25 yards.
But Brown dived to his right to push his well struck free-kick over. A moment later the goalkeeper was relieved to see Penn, his former room mate, drag a 20-yard effort wide of the target.
Yates made a double substitution with 27 minutes remaining, Terry Gornell replacing Lucas and Sam Deering for Cureton.
Almost immediately McGlashan found an opening down the right to shoot from an angle down the right, but if fizzed wide of the left post.
Then Gornell directed Braham-Barrett’s cross from the left narrowly over, and Braham-Barrett drove just wide.
At the other end, Fletcher should have done better with a chance from 16 yards which failed to test Brown.
The substitutes combined 15 minutes from time when Gornell met Deering’s delivery from the left with a looping header, but the goalkeeper made a comfortable save.
Ihiekwe became the fourth Cheltenham player to be flashed yellow for a rather agricultural challenge on Davies seven minutes from time.
Bowman then shot wide from close-range, wasting the chance to snatch all the points in the closing stages.
Zack Kotwica was handed a few minutes to make a late impression, at the expense of Byron Harrison, and the young winger might have had an opportunity a moment later had Deering found a better ball to pick him out in the middle on one particular counter attack.
YORK CITY (4-4-2): Pope; Oyebanjo, Lowe, McCombe, Davies; Carson, Penn ( c), Reed, Coulson; (Hayhurst 72) Fletcher, Bowman. Subs not used: Montrose, Platt, Allan, Ingham (Gk), Dickinson, Puri.
CHELTENHAM TOWN (4-4-2): S Brown; Ihiekwe, T Brown, Elliott ( c), Braham-Barrett; Taylor, Lucas (Gornell 63), McGlashan, Richards; Cureton (Deering 63), Harrison (Kotwica 83). Subs not used: Roberts (Gk), Hanks, Jombati, Brundle.
REFEREE: D Handley
ATTENDANCE: 3,148 (172 from Cheltenham)