Cheltenham 34
Swindon 33
Cheltenham's hopes of surviving relegation were improved with a hard fought 34-33 home win against in-form fourth place Swindon, writes Derek Clifford.
Cheltenham took just 75 seconds to open the scoring with Olly Clements kicking a penalty.
Cheltenham continued to have the upper hand and increased their lead with a second Clements' penalty.
Swindon were soon on the scoreboard when former Lydney and Gloucestershire player Charlie Vine dashed over for a unconverted try.
Cheltenham were unfazed and after a period of pressure Swindon were penalised and Clements duly kicked a third penalty for a 9-5 lead after 16 minutes.
This scoreline was soon to be extended when a clever chip into space from Mark Whitney was fielded by evergreen Cheltenham winger Richard Morris who showed a good turn of speed for a fine try with Clements adding the conversion for a 16-5 lead.
From the restart Cheltenham built a platform for a further score and after nine phases it was captain Tom Lait who grabbed a unconverted try after 36 minutes.
Swindon, however, had the final word of the half when again Vine out run the home cover for his a second try converted by Adam Westall for a 21-12 at the break.
Swindon maintained the pressure early in the second half and made further inroads with winger Sam Williams scoring a try which Westall converted.
Cheltenham, to their credit, came back and Swindon gave away a penalty with Clements duly increasing the home lead to 24-19.
The game swung back in favour of Swindon with Vine grabbing his third try with Westall adding the extras for a slender 24-26 point lead.
Cheltenham refused to lay down and after a period of extreme pressure Swindon gave away a penalty which Clements kicked with ease for a 27-26 lead after 66 minutes.
Cheltenham's hopes of a morale-boosting win were increased when Swindon's Paul Daniel was shown a yellow card by referee Nikki O'Donnell.
From the tap penalty the ball found centre Whiney who scored under the uprights with Clements adding the conversion for a 34-26 lead after 76 minutes.
Swindon set up a grandstand finish from the restart when Tom Mannion scored a soft try with Westall coverting for a final score of 34-33.
A result that lifted Cheltenham up to fourth from bottom with two games to play.
Next week they are away to in-form Windsor before the final game back at the Prince of Wales stadium against Witney.
