Cheltenham slip to fifth after a 3–1 defeat at Tranmere, with Cundy and Onukwuli injury doubts
Sunday 1 November 2026 · By Arthur Plummer
Cheltenham Town went ahead after less than a minute at Tranmere Rovers on Saturday, but lost 3–1 and slipped to fifth in League Two. It was their third league defeat in five games.
Charlie McCann turned home Jake Evans’s cross from close range to put Cheltenham in front inside the opening minute, according to the Press Association. Tranmere levelled in the 23rd minute when Dylan Jones found the bottom corner from Jacob Slater’s delivery. Jones struck again six minutes before the break with a 25-yard effort, and Charlie Whitaker added a third with a dipping shot just before half-time.
Steve Cotterill felt his team deserved more. “It was never a game we deserved to lose that’s for sure,” the Cheltenham manager said. “We started off the game really well and for the first 30 minutes I thought we were excellent, but they ended up scoring with their first effort on goal.”
He explained the effect on his players. “Things like that don’t just change games, they change mindsets,” Cotterill said. “I think in that period after they got their goals, we were almost in denial that it was the scoreline going in at half-time.” He added: “I felt we were the better team today and we’ve made a couple of mistakes. And that’s what’s happening with us at the moment, we’re making a couple of mistakes and they are ending up in the back of our net.”
Cheltenham’s list of fitness worries is not getting shorter. According to Gloucestershire Live, Favour Onukwuli’s hamstring problem has returned, with a scan planned for Monday 2 November. We do not yet know the result. Cotterill also said that defender Robbie Cundy’s knee “just isn’t fit”. Until the club says more, those are the only details we have.
The table makes more comfortable reading than the recent results. Standing after the weekend’s games, Cheltenham are fifth on 21 points from 14 matches, with six wins, three draws and five defeats. They have scored 23 goals and conceded 25, so their goal difference is minus two, which is unusual for a club inside the play-off places. They are one point ahead of Grimsby Town and York City, who are on 20 and hold the last two play-off places. Gillingham are eighth, also on 20.
It is a long way from where they were a few days ago, when Cheltenham were third. BBC form for their last six league games reads loss, loss, loss, win, win, loss.
The next fixture is a home FA Cup first-round tie against FC Halifax on Saturday 7 November at 3pm. That is followed by an EFL Trophy trip to Oxford on Tuesday 10 November at 7pm, and then a league visit to Exeter City on Saturday 14 November. That game has an early 12:30pm kick-off.
The cup tie offers a chance to rediscover some rhythm before the trip to Devon.
Whaddon Road — also known by its sponsorship name, the EV Charger Points Stadium — is the compact, residential home of Cheltenham Town. Capacity is 7,066, a mix of seats and terraces, and the stands sit close to the pitch. For a visiting supporter it feels properly lower-league: tight, slightly lopsided, and often louder than the numbers suggest when the home end is full.
Away fans are housed in the Hazlewoods Stand, the covered all-seater at the Whaddon Road (south) end, directly behind that goal. The allocation is about 1,100. Entry is through Gate 1, between the bowls club and a house on Whaddon Road itself. There is no proper concourse behind the seats, so alcohol is not sold inside this stand. A fan zone usually operates in the bowls club car park a few metres from the turnstiles — the nearest bar, and where coaches drop off. For bigger followings, extra seats can open in the end blocks of the Colin Farmer Stand along the east touchline.
Opposite you is the Prestbury Road End, the covered home terrace of around 2,000. That is the noisy standing end, with a short uncovered wrap toward the Main Stand in the north-west corner. Along the east side runs the Colin Farmer Stand (Wymans Road), a 2,000-seat single-tier stand opened in 2001. Block 1, nearest the home terrace, is where the 1887 Red Army tend to sit. The west side is the older Main Stand (Autovillage), built in 1963. It does not run the full length of the pitch and stops short of both corners. Dressing rooms, offices, hospitality and the Robins Nest bar sit in that building, with the Paddock and Tunnel terraces in front.
Views from the away seats are generally good: you are close to the goal and can see the Cotswold rise beyond the far end. Persistent standing is against EFL rules in the seated stand. Wheelchair spaces with companion seats are in the Hazlewoods Stand, accessed from Whaddon Road. Food inside is the usual pies, burgers and hot drinks; card and cash are typically taken. Check your club’s ticket note for the fixture, as segregation and extra blocks change with demand.
The address is Whaddon Road, Cheltenham, GL52 5NA. Matchday parking at the ground is scarce and not meant for visiting coaches beyond drop-off. Parklands Community Centre (GL52 5PR) is the usual paid overflow; street spaces vanish after early afternoon. Cheltenham Spa station is about two miles away, so most fans take a taxi or a local bus rather than walk. The town centre is 10–15 minutes on foot and has far more pubs than the streets immediately around the ground.
Drink at the away fan zone first. The Robins Nest, behind the Main Stand, sometimes lets in a few visiting supporters but fills quickly. Parklands Social Club and pubs on Prestbury Road are the next nearest options. After the match the residential streets empty fast, so allow time for a train. Programmes are sold around the perimeter and often inside after kick-off.
Arrive early. The away turnstiles are easy to miss if you expect a big stadium frontage — look for the bowls club on Whaddon Road. Inside, the stand is one covered tier with the goal in front of you, the home terrace at the far end, the Main Stand to your left and the Colin Farmer Stand to your right. It is not a vast bowl. You will hear the home terrace clearly, and the ground still feels like a club that grew out of non-league rather than a identikit new-build.