Cheltenham Town vs Tranmere Rovers. Sky Bet League Two.
EV Charger Points StadiumAttendance3,939.
Saturday 23 November 2024 18:07, UK
Joel Colwill struck in the 89th minute to secure Cheltenham a 1-0 victory at home to Tranmere in League Two.
The Cardiff loanee fired a shot across goalkeeper Luke McGee and inside the bottom left corner for his sixth goal of the season.
The first half was cagey, with neither side able to create much in the way of clear-cut chances.
Robins defender Sam Stubbs blocked well from Luke Norris in the seventh minute and goalkeeper Joe Day collected a header from Omari Patrick five minutes later as Tranmere threatened.
Day parried well from Patrick in the 14th minute before Colwill went down in the box looking for a penalty at the other end but his appeals were ignored.
Colwill then fired two efforts off target and he also had the ball in the net before half-time, but the offside flag was raised.
Cheltenham winger Jordan Thomas saw a shot blocked by Connor Wood early in the second half before Norris forced Day into another diving save in the 58th minute.
But with the game seemingly heading for a stalemate, Colwill - the game's outstanding player - had the final say to secure the Robins' sixth win of the campaign.
Cheltenham boss Michael Flynn hailed Colwill's "little bit of magic" after Cheltenham's late win over Tranmere.
"Joel was excellent tonight and I thought it was a deserved win because we were the better team and looked more dangerous," Flynn said.
"Tranmere have experienced players and they are tough to play against, but I thought a little bit of magic would decide the game and thankfully Joel managed to provide it.
"It was a real team performance though and I've just praised Matty Taylor in there in front of the boys for three headed clearances right at the end, which shows the importance of putting the team first.
"He is going to be frustrated that he's not starting games, but he's not chucked his toys out of the pram, he's kept his head down and he has just shown what being a team player and a squad player is all about, so fair play.
"That's the environment we are trying to breed here."
Tranmere boss Nigel Adkins felt his side were unfortunate to come away with nothing.
"It's a tough one to take at the end," he said. "The players worked hard and it was a competitive game.
"We started well and Omari Patrick had that chance when he was through and we thought we could cause them a few problems from set pieces and we did.
"We have tried to come here and win the game, that was the intent. We had four or five lads close enough to get a challenge in on the lad for their goal and he's put it in from an angle."
