Oxford United 1 Cheltenham Town 0
CHELTENHAM Town's disappointing away form continued as they were edged out by rivals Oxford United at the Kassam Stadium this afternoon.
It was not the start to the new year boss Mark Yates wanted, nor the ideal preparation for Monday's televised FA Cup third round tie against Premier League Everton.
There was not much to choose between the teams, but Peter Leven's 16th minute penalty condemned toothless Cheltenham to their fourth away defeat in five League Two games, undermining their automatic promotion hopes.
An unchanged Robins side started the game with some flowing passing moves despite a heavy and churned up playing surface.
They worked the ball into some promising positions, but failed to open up the Oxford backline, with Darryl Duffy getting no change from experienced central defender Michael Duberry.
The solidly built Duberry was making his first start since neck surgery and he was never going to be beaten in a physical contest, but Oxford looked vulnerable when Cheltenham moved it around quickly and kept it on the floor.
They failed to test Ryan Clarke despite enjoying more possession than their hosts and they were made to pay.
Alfie Potter forced Scott Brown into action for the first time with a well-struck shot in the 13th minute that the goalkeeper parried to safety.
But Oxford were awarded a penalty three minutes later when Sido Jombati caught Tom Craddock, who was striding onto a through ball.
Midfielder Leven scored from the spot with a confident strike, with Brown guessing correctly but having no chance of keeping it out.
Cheltenham lost some of their composure after falling behind and it all became rather scrappy and disjointed.
Sean Rigg reached a Leven corner unmarked and in space in the 23rd minute, but he failed to make a clean contact with the ball and it flew harmlessly wide.
Duberry then found the room to bring the ball down in the box, turn and send a shot high and wide, but Cheltenham were living dangerously.
Jermaine McGlashan manoeuvred himself free in the 26th minute, but he shot early rather than attacking the space ahead of him and Clarke was able to make a comfortable stop, diving low to his right at the near post.
At the other end, Brown had to be alert to smother at Rigg's feet after a clever pass from James Constable as Oxford finished a largely uninspiring first half with their noses in front.
Cheltenham lost key midfielder Darren Carter early in the second half after he appeared to land awkwardly after being struck in the face by the ball. Marlon Pack went on in his place, making a positive impression.
But Potter dragged a shot wide in the 67th minute after beating Billy Jones as Oxford threatened again and Alan Bennett needed to be at his best to make several crucial interventions in the penalty area.
Bennett was beaten by Josh Parker in the 70th minute, but the substitute's shot was wild and Cheltenham breathed a sigh of relief.
Penn shot high with his weaker left foot and Shaun Harrad turned sharply before crashing over just over the bar.
Jones went close to opening his scoring account for the Robins with a free-kick from 30 yards, but again it was narrowly off target.
Jombati headed a chance over in time added on, but Oxford saw out the game well to leave Cheltenham frustrated.
OXFORD UNITED: R Clarke; D Batt, M Duberry, J Wright, L O'Brien; A Potter (H Worley 90), P Leven L Cox, S Rigg (T Capaldi 71); J Constable, T Craddock (J Parker 63). Subs not used: S Heslop, J Forster-Caskey, W Brown, T Marsh.
CHELTENHAM TOWN: S Brown; S Jombati, A Bennett, S Elliott, B Jones; J McGlashan, R Penn, D Carter (M Pack 51), J Taylor (K Mohamed 67); D Duffy (S Harrad 72), J Goulding. Subs not used: K Lowe, C Roberts, L D'Ath, S Deering.
REFEREE: F Graham.
ATTENDANCE: 6,951 (637 away).
STAR MAN: Russ Penn.
Click below to see how the action unfolded:
