Robins draw with Swindon
Cheltenham Town battled back with two goals in the last five minutes to draw 2-2 against Swindon Town in the Central League this afternoon.The match took place at Swindon Supermarine's Webbswood Stadium and Cheltenham lined up with a back four of Jack Barthram, Matt Bower, Dan O'Shaughnessy and Jordan Lymn.
Across the midfield were Jacob Nutting, Danny Whitehead, a trialist and James Rowe with Amari Morgan-Smith partnering Koby Arthur in attack.
Cheltenham could have taken the lead in the first minute but Swindon goalkeeper Will Henry saved brilliantly from Nutting.
The home side then scored against the run of play when Tom Smith cut in from the left and scored with a well-placed shot just inside the far post.
Former Blackburn Rovers and Aston Villa striker Nathan Delfouneso went close with a couple of chances but Cheltenham enjoyed plenty of possession and went close when Rowe tested Henry with a free-kick from the edge of the box.
Swindon doubled their lead in first half injury time with another well-taken goal, this time Jack Stanley collected the ball wide on the right and beat Calum Kitscha with a firm cross shot.
Cheltenham were far better in the second half, although it took them 40 minutes to find a way to goal.
Chances came and went with Rowe seeing a shot deflected wide, O'Shaughnessy having a header saved and Arthur shooting just past the post.
Substitute Joe Hance then hooked a shot over the bar before the breakthrough finally arrived on 85 minutes when Morgan-Smith burst into the box and when his shot bounced back off a post, Arthur was there to tap in the rebound.
Two minutes later Morgan-Smith supplied the equaliser, running onto a through ball from Rowe before beating Henry with a cool finish. In the closing stages Lee Llewellyn and Morgan-Smith both shot wide as the Robins pressed for what would have been an unlikely winner.
"I thought the lads finished strongly and deserved the draw," said manager Gary Johnson.
"We had a few chances in the first half but Swindon took theirs and we had to battle back. We had a mixture of young lads and pros out there and it was good experience for the younger ones and important for some of the pros to get 90 minutes.
"We've got a bit of a gap now until the Boxing Day game so it was good to get a competitive game for this group of players. Some of the young lads did very well and we'll be keeping an eye on them as well."
Cheltenham Town: Kitscha; Barthram, O'Shaughnessy (Kilkenny 82), Bower, Lymn (Cordell 82); Nutting (Llewellyn 82), Whitehead, Trialist (Hance 67), Rowe; Arthur, Morgan-Smith.
Unused sub: Clayton (Gk)