Southern League Premier Division- 2/1/95 - Whaddon Road
After a bitterly cold start to the New Year, this match was very close to being postponed, but after a late pitch inspection, the partially frozen surface was somewhat surprisingly declared playable.
Cheltenham needed a win to maintain their title hopes and were looking to continue an impressive run of festive form that had seen them defeat arch-enemies Gloucester City and come from two down to snatch a point at Worcester City.
The conditions made it difficult to produce for Lindsay Parsons' men to produce the type of flowing, passing football that was their trademark. In fact, attractive football was virtually impossible and many players were struggling to stay on their feet, but it certainly resulted in a spectacle for the healthy bank holiday crowd.
Trowbridge had been close to the foot of the table for much of the campaign and were not expected to provide much resistance, but the Bees failed to reads the script and took the lead after 11 minutes. A through ball dissected the Robins defence and found Matthew Bown on the edge of the penalty area. Bown's shot was not particularly well struck, but Cutler lost his footing in the icy goal mouth and could not keep it out.
The remainder of the first half was a frustrating affair, with Cheltenham struggling to cope with their determined opponents. When an equaliser arrived for Cheltenham, they were on level terms for barely a minute as Trowbridge snatched a second. A defensive miskick allowed Martin Boyle to add to his already impressive goal tally, but former Robin Danny Iddles put one over his old club seconds later. Iddles lost his marker to head home from a corner and put the pressure back on Parsons' side.
Parsons responded by sending on Lee Howells, who had scored two dramatic goals in the draw with Worcester two days earlier. Howells replaced Paul Mortimore and it did not take long for the talented midfield player to make his mark once again. Howells found Christer Warren, who teed up Jimmy Smith for a shot at goal. Smith's effort was blocked by defender Marcus Bray and looped up for Howells to head home another equaliser past Steve Perrin in the Bees goal.
Trowbridge, desperate for points in their quest to avoid the drop, had worked extremely hard and a draw would probably have been a fair result. However, the game took another twist in the final minute. Matt Lovell's long ball was helped on by Howells to Boyle, who flicked the ball into the path of Jimmy Smith. Smith was as lethal as anyone in non-league football at that time and the diminutive Scotsman beat Perrin with a low shot to break Trowbridge hearts and seal three precious points for the promotion chasing Robins.
Cheltenham Town (0) 3 (Boyle 58, Howells 72, Smith 90)
Trowbridge Town (1) 2 (Bown 11, Iddles 59)
Cheltenham: Cutler, Lovell, Bloomer, Banks, Jones, N.Smith, Warren, Cooper, J.Smith, Boyle, Mortimore (Howells 66).
Trowbridge: Perrin, Radford, Bray, Lunt, Thorpe, Watts (Rutter 77), Sanderson, Taylor, Iddles (Sheppard 80), Bown, Housley.
Attendance: 1,136.