The “C word”
It’s all about the C word, if you have this in abundance, you will more than likely ensure a successful season. Likewise if you struggle for it, then so will the team. The word I’m referring to is of course consistency… that elusive word that managers, players and fans alike strive for week in week out. Consistency ultimately defines a teams season, so how are Cheltenham doing in the C word stakes…?
Alan Bennett fights for possession against Hereford
The previous 7 days can sum this up quite nicely. Rewind a week and we welcomed our old foes Hereford to Whaddon Road, a happy hunting ground for the Bulls for sure. As a club everyone has their “bogey teams”… teams the fans hate playing, teams that players play against with an added weight on their shoulders. Then there’s Hereford! Cheltenham haven’t recorded a home win over the Bulls since the 1960′s incredibly and have also NEVER beaten them in a Football League encounter, however this meeting was labelled (and rightly so) our best chance yet.
Hereford have been truly dire whilst the Rubies have shown real potential on numerous occasions this season, a home banker in many peoples eyes. However, as us Chelties know, there’s no such thing as a home banker and after a woeful 1st half devoid of any real quality the teams went in goalless. The second half begins and cue a 10-15 minute onslaught from the hosts which yielded real chances, but none taken. Eventually the game petered out and finished how it began, goalless. Que (and ridiculously may I add) boos from a tiny minority of the home fans and glum faces from the home support, with Hereford happy with an away point and a clean sheet.
Luke Summerfield celebrates his thunderbolt to make it 2-0 at Bristol Rovers
Fast forward to October 1st, and the 424 travelling army from Gloucestershire were treated to a clinical, classy 90 minutes in which Bristol Rovers weren’t far off from being outplayed on their own patch, giving Cheltenham their 1st win at the Memorial Ground in 5 years. Kaid Mohamed, who has had his own critics rightly of late, produced a devastating run and finish to open the scoring before two well worked corners resulted in goals for Luke Summerfield and James Spencer before a deflected consolation.
The result leaves Cheltenham in 11th with 17 points… a solid return from the opening set of games but what is the answer the remaining consistent? The alst week has seen two completly matches at the complete opposite ends of the spectrum. Most sets of fans claim that “if we play to our potential we”ll win this”… but how often do teams play to their true potential? Not enough in most cases, and if there was a simple answer most managers would’ve employed it surely.
The fact is if Cheltenham CAN remain injury free and CAN get that bit of luck there’s no reason why the assault for the top 7 cannot continue. Whereas this Sunday is a very happy one for all Cheltenham fans, last weeks dire draw still sticks in the memory and shows how good and bad we really can be… therefore for this reason I still believe the top 7 is just a push too far this season. Give us a top half finish now and we’ll snap your hands off!
However, if we can find the magical formula for the infamous C word, who knows, it’s a funny old game!
Tags: bristol rovers, cheltenham town, hereford united, james spencer, kaid mohamed, league 2, luke summerfield
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