Meet Your Opponents: Cheltenham Town
- Johnnie Lowery
- Dec 1, 2016
- 2 min read
What are they like?
Cheltenham Town won the National League last season, cruising to the title accumulating 101 points in total. They currently sit 23rd in a very tight League 2 – despite being in the relegation zone they are less than 10 points off the playoff spots! Cheltenham are without victory since beating Crewe 4-1 in the FA Cup 1st round replay, with a draw against Portsmouth being followed up by 2 disappointing defeats. Their most recent game was a 3-1 defeat away to Cambridge United on Saturday. Manager Gary Johnson was far from happy, and speaking to RobinsTV after the game said “We don’t look a threat in our attacking third, and don’t look solid in our defensive third” before going on to add “some players prove that they’re not good enough over a period of time to play at this level”.
Any familiar or crucial players?
In a generally strong squad it’s hard to pick out a particular player, but tall midfielder Harry Pell may be familiar to Sutton fans due to his time at AFC Wimbledon. In particular a cracking goal against the U’s in a pre-season friendly in July 2013 springs to mind. Backup goalkeeper Calum Kitscha used to play for Hayes and Yeading, making his debut for the England C team against Turkey in 2014. Dan Holman scored 16 goals in 18 games to help Cheltenham to the title last season and has returned to the first team picture after a spell out through injury – however he went off after just 36minutes at the weekend.
What will their away support be like?
Robins fans have a 240 mile round trip to get to Sutton, similar in distance to their trip to Mansfield. 211 supporters made the trip from Gloucestershire that day. Cheltenham Town’s home average this season has been just over 3000, roughly twice the average attendance at Gander Green Lane. Segregation will be in place, and Cheltenham have been allocated 700 tickets covering the Rec End and part of the stand. It is expected the visiting fans will travel in numbers to support their side in this massive fixture.
Should it go to a replay, where do they play?
Cheltenham play at Whaddon Road, 120 miles from Gander Green Lane, with the M4 your main connecting motorway. The ground itself holds 7066 with 3912 seated. Away fans are typically situated in the seated Hazlewoods Stand behind one of the goals – there is space for 1100 here but to be perfectly honest it’s unlikely all of it will be needed! There is a week delay to replays from the FA Cup first round onwards, so if there was a replay it would likely be played on Tuesday 13th December between the Bath City and Wrexham games.
Anything else I should know about the day?
The TV cameras will be at Gander Green Lane on Saturday to broadcast Football Focus live between 12 and 1pm, with the FA Cup due to be present at the club in afternoon. The club bar will also be open from 11.30am so why not make a day of it?