could provide the spark to rescue Robins’ season
Jon Palmer looks back on Cheltenham Town’s incident-packed 3-2 win over Macclesfield Town
The half that may have saved Cheltenham Town’s season
THIS was a highly eventful, hugely entertaining contest and Cheltenham’s stirring second half fightback may have gone a long way towards saving their season.
They were two down at half-time and despite being reduced to 10 men between their goals, Macclesfield looked fully capable of climbing free of the bottom two and above their hosts in the table.
The dismissal of centre-half and captain Nathan Cameron for a challenge on Jacob Maddox on the edge of the penalty area in the 20th minute, followed by a Scott Wilson strike to make it 2-0 three minutes later led to Macclesfield sending on an extra defender.
One time Robins player of the year Keith Lowe joined the action, replacing Callum Evans just 19 minutes after he had gone on, as they put nine men behind the ball in an attempt to hold onto their advantage.
Cheltenham had 45 minutes to break them down and salvage something to end a run of three straight defeats because a fourth in succession would have been a hammer blow.
Luke Varney’s superb flying volley from a Ryan Broom cross in the 54th minute sparked the recovery.
It was the veteran striker’s eighth goal of the season and certainly the most spectacular so far.
Maddox made it 2-2 in the 61st minute, finishing well after Varney nodded Chris Hussey’s cross into his path.
Despite some heroic goalkeeping from Kieran O’hara, a winner looked probable.
With the crowd expectant, a corner from Chris Clements reached Alex Addai beyond the far post and his looping cross back into the middle was headed in by Charlie Raglan, marking his home debut with a the winning goal.
Macclesfield had one clear chance to make it 3-3, with Wilson firing wide with only Scott Flinders to beat in the 86th minute.
But Cheltenham had done enough, just, and a thoroughly enjoyable spectacle that had just about everything ended well for the home side.
Scott Flinders’ blushes spared
THE experienced goalkeeper has not made many mistakes since joining Cheltenham, but he had a first half to forget against his previous club Macclesfield.
He advanced from his line and brought down Wilson in the 10th min- ute after a looping ball forward from Harry Smith.
Michael Rose, a former Cheltenham loanee, saw his spot kick hit the bottom of the right post and then roll into the net off Flinders in the 11th minute.
It got worse in the 23rd minute when Flinders tried to pass the ball out from the back, but only succeeded in giving it straight to former Gloucester City and Cinderford Town forward Wilson, who was able to tap in his sixth goal in seven games.
Cheltenham were 2-0 down and to compound their misery they lost Jordon Forster after a clash of heads with Smith.
The defender was carried off on a stretcher and given oxygen, with every precaution rightly taken, but it was reassuring to see him sitting on the bench in the second half.
As well as having their captain sent off, Macclesfield also lost Koby Arthur and target man Smith to injuries during a frantic first half, using all three substitutes before the break.
Kevin Dawson replaced Forster and played a major role in what was to follow after half-time, as did Billy Waters who went on for Conor Thomas for the start of the second half to add more of an attacking threat.
Flinders, who had very little to do in the second half, would have been the most relieved man in the stadium as Cheltenham clawed their way back for a dramatic victory.
But he has bailed out his team mates on numerous occasions over the last 18 months and he has the right temperament and experience not to allow the first half to affect him.
Jacob Maddox wins bet with his manager
CHELTENHAM needed Maddox back on form and after being left out of the starting XI at Carlisle a week earlier, the Chelsea youngster returned to the side with one of his most influential performances so far.
Playing in a central attacking role in behind Varney and Addai, he excelled and scoring the first Football League goal of his career capped an outstanding display.
It also saw him win a bet of £10 with his manager Michael Duff, who has been demanded more end product to accompany his undoubted talent.
Maddox, Addai, Dawson and Waters were all instrumental in finding a way past Macclesfield’s rearguard action and the way and the way Cheltenham used their extra man and moved the ball around effectively was praised by Sol Campbell after the game, with Clements doing a good job of pulling the strings.
Consistency needed to climb away from danger
CHELTENHAM are up to 18th, but they still have plenty to do if they are going to stay out of the relegation zone and Duff knows they cannot afford to start games as slowly as they did on Saturday.
They have played well only for parts of matches in recent weeks, without managing to maintain their performance levels for enough of the 90 min- utes to fully convince.
That is a problem he must try and solve, but after what happened early on against Macclesfield it was all about the result, which could prove pivotal.
The next two matches, at home to Cambridge United and Yeovil Town, present a real opportunity to distance themselves from trouble going into the final months of the campaign.
Michael Duff’s “most difficult conversation”
IT has become clear that Duff is finding it hard to bring in the players he wants this month due to financial constraints, with the initial payment for Mo Eisa from Bristol City frittered away in a matter of months before he could get his hands on any of it.
He was forced to make the difficult decision to release experienced defender Craig Alcock after Saturday’s game to free up some funds to strengthen other departments.
Cheltenham have plenty of defensive cover, with Will Boyle and Sean Long still to come back from injuries and Matt Bower not even on the bench on Saturday and that meant the end for the luckless Alcock.
He has brought in midfielder Jordan Tillson and a forward is also likely to be needed due to Tyrone Barnett’s hamstring injury, which is likely to keep him out for around six weeks.
The board must find a way to back Duff and give him the best possible chance of achieving Football League survival this season, which would still represent a significant achievement at the start of his managerial career, bearing in mind the bleakness of the situation he inherited.