The Robins fell to a 3-2 defeat at the Completely-Suzuki Stadium against Derby County in the Sky Bet League One.
Goals from Caleb Taylor and Alfie May proved not to be enough the for Cheltenham as the visitors leave with all the points.
The Robins took an early lead in the tie as Liam Sercombe played an invited ball into the box which was headed home by Taylor who scored his first of the season.
Derby didn’t hang about in getting a leveler though, pulling the scores level just five minutes later with a headed finish from Conor Hourihane.
Max Bird would add another before the tenth minute to put the visitors ahead just after the ten-minute mark.
Cheltenham didn’t lie down though, with Ryan Broom surging through and winning a free kick on the edge of the area that was put into the wall by Alfie May.
The Robins kept pushing as Broom almost forced an own goal from a Rams defender to win a corner which was eventually claimed by Joe Wildsmith in the Derby goal.
May almost brought the Robins level just before half-time with his shot eventually being stopped to deny Cheltenham an equalizer.
Just after half-time, Derby would add another through Barkhuizen who slotted past Luke Southwood in front of the away fans.
The Robins did look to add another with a scramble in the box resulting in a Sean Long shot that was eventually blocked by a defender.
A second goal would come for the Robins through May as goal-scorer Taylor nodded the ball down from a Taylor Perry free-kick to bring Cheltenham within one goal.
In search of a third, May played in James Olayinka on the edge of the box whose driven shot required a good save from Wildsmith in the Derby net.
Robins – Southwood, Long©, Bradbury (Olayinka 62), Sercombe (Perry 44), Goodwin, May, Taylor, Ferry (Williams 62), Jackson, Bonds, Broom
Un-used Substitutes – Brown, MacDonald, Barkers, Norton
Derby – Wildsmith, Forsyth, Hourihane (McGoldrick 69), Cashin (Davies 63), Barkhuizen (Dobbin 69), Bird©, Collins (Rooney 85), Mendez-Laing, Smith, Sibley, Knight
Un-used substitutes –Roberts, Thompson, Loach
Attendance – 5,666 (1,510)
Referee – N Hair