Goals from Steven Sessegnon and Albie Morgan looked to have booked Charlton’s place in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday before a 97th-minute equaliser from Stockport County’s Myles Hippolyteforced a replay to be played next Wednesday.
Following on from a youthful Addicks side exiting the EFL Trophy at Plymouth Argyle earlier in that week, Ben Garner’s men really would have benefitted from a first victory since their second-round win in the FA Cup against non-league Coalville Town nearly a month ago.
Unfortunately for Charlton that late sucker punch delivered by Stockport means the Londoners are now winless in five in all competitions as they turn their attention back to third-tier action for the weekend at least.
Garner’s side are languishing in 14th in the League One standings, six points away from sixth-placed Barnsley despite their ambitions for promotion this season after disappointing campaigns in the past two years.
All is not well at The Valley off the pitch also, with owner Thomas Sandgaardfacing increasing pressure from supporters and even manager Garner, who recently claimed he has not been given the financial backing he expected when he arrived from Swindon Town in the summer.
Cheltenham were victims of an FA Cup upset in the first round after being defeated on home soil by seventh-tier Alvechurch, but have responded well in recent times to that shocking result at the Jonny-Rocks Stadium.
The Robins are unbeaten in their last three matches in all competitions, earning a respectable point at high-flying Ipswich Town, beating Gareth Ainsworth’s Wycombe Wanderers at home and sneaking past Forest Green Rovers in the EFL Trophy on penalties last Tuesday.
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Championship-linked Alfie May netted the only goal of the game against Wycombe in Cheltenham’s last League One fixture, and although the 29-year-old is not currently scoring at a rate that attracted attention from higher up the Football League in the summer, the Englishman is still the club’s leading marksmen with four strikes.
After winning League Two in the 2020-21 campaign and regaining their third-tier status last season, the aim now will be to see how far 43-year-old Wade Elliott can take the Robins in his first spell as a senior head coach, with three points at The Valley on Friday night enough to leapfrog their hosts.
Despite Cheltenham arguably having lower ambitions as a club than their South London opponents on Friday, the Gloucestershire-based side have managed to go unbeaten in the last three meetings against Charlton and ran out 2-1 victors when they last visited the Addicks over a year ago.
