Cheltenham Town's unbeaten home run ended with a 2-0 defeat to Salford City in League Two on Saturday. The result, which leaves Cheltenham eighth in the standings with 15 points from ten games, was decided by a late Jorge Grant double after Ben Stevenson's sending off.
Steve Cotterill's side had matched the league leaders for much of the contest, but the game turned when Stevenson was shown a straight red card for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity in the 78th minute. Playing with ten men for the final quarter of an hour, Cheltenham conceded twice in the last ten minutes.
Jorge Grant broke the deadlock in the 84th minute, capitalising on a loose clearance. He then sealed the win in the 92nd minute, finishing from a Kallum Cesay assist. The defeat is Cheltenham's second consecutive loss, following a 2-0 reverse at Accrington Stanley last weekend.
Cotterill's frustration
Manager Steve Cotterill was left frustrated by the officiating and the outcome. "I worry for our game. I can't see that for the life of me," he said of the red card decision. Despite the scoreline, Cotterill believed his team had performed well. "We were better than them," he added.
The match was a fractious affair, with nine yellow cards shown in total. Cheltenham received five of them before Stevenson's dismissal, with Freddie Willcox, Jake Evans, Jonathan Tomkinson, Jordan Shipley and Andreas Weimann all booked. Salford's Will Aimson, Luke Molyneux, Abraham Odoh and Luke Garbutt also saw yellow. The club's squad page details the players involved.
Cheltenham, now four points behind leaders Salford City, must regroup quickly for their next match, an away trip to face Oldham Athletic on 17 October as shown in the fixtures list.
