Cheltenham take a two-goal cushion into their second leg against Northampton

The Jonny Rocks Stadium will host the second leg between Cheltenham and Northampton in which the Robins have a two-goal cushion after goals from Charlie Raglan and Conor Thomas.

The other two teams in the play-offs go head to head in an 8pm kick-off on Monday. After a fantastic display from Cheltenham goalkeeper Owen Evans, the Robins were able to keep a clean sheet away from home and win 2-0 at the PTS Academy Stadium against Northampton Town in the first leg.

Northampton struggled after missing a penalty through Ryan Watson with Cheltenham capitalising on the Cobblers’ mistake by taking the lead via a Charlie Raglan header.

The lead was doubled from Conor Thomas’ second half strike as Cheltenham took control of the tie.

Team news

This game will see the return of Sam Hoskins back into the Northampton side after being suspended for the first leg.

Both teams look to be fully fit and raring to go to fight for a place in the play-off final.

Cheltenham Town manager Michael Duff spoke about the win and Owen Evans’ great performance in between the sticks:

“You’d always take a 2-0 away from home in any game, but to come to a tough team like Northampton, I thought the shape of the team and resilience that they showed was magnificent.

“The ball went in to our box a lot and we stood up to be counted. Owen [Evans] stood up at a big moment in the game and did his job.

“I thought they were just excellent in the way they went about it.”

Northampton Town manager Keith Curle spoke about the defeat and about the importance of getting back into this tie:

“Two-nil is a difficult lead to defend. That’s the message to the players: score the first goal on Monday night and change the course of the game.

“Today we had a great opportunity to score the first goal. I think we had three other penalty claims and on another night, they’re penalties. That can change the mentality of the game.

“Tonight, things didn’t quite drop for us. Monday night, I believe they will. There are goals to be had and I think there will be more goals on Monday night.”