Papa Johns Preview | Argyle v Cheltenham Town
Argyle will meet Cheltenham Town on Tuesday evening, for the third time in the last two months. This game, though, has a unique feel to it.
It is the semi-final of the 2022/23 Papa Johns Trophy competition - a tournament that neither side have ever got to the final of.
Argyle won both games the teams have played in Sky Bet League One. The first, on Boxing Day, took place at Cheltenham's Completely-Suzuki Stadium, with a Morgan Whittaker goal giving Argyle a 1-0 victory. On 21 January, the sides met at Home Park, with the Pilgrims prevailing 4-2. Argyle's goals came from Dan Scarr, Ryan Hardie, Callum Wright and Sam Cosgrove, Cheltenham's from Will Ferry and Alfie May.
To reach the semi-final, Cheltenham came through a group including Milton Keynes Dons, West Ham United Under-21s and Walsall. They followed that with a penalty shoot-out victory over neighbours Forest Green Rovers, a convincing 4-0 win over Chelsea Under-21s and, most recently, a 3-1 win over Salford City in the quarter-final.
Cheltenham are 19th in League One, with 33 points from their 31 games. Since losing 4-2 at Home Park, they have failed to score in three home fixtures, drawing 0-0 against Port Vale and Accrington Stanley, and losing 4-0 against Barnsley on Saturday. In between times, they have lost 1-0 at Bolton Wanderers and won 2-1 at Cambridge United.
Cheltenham's top goalscorer this season is Alfie May, who has ten goals, including one in the Papa Johns Trophy. Also in the Robins' squad is Ryan Broom, who played 48 times for Argyle in a loan spell last season. He has five goals to his name this season, three of which have come in this competition.
Cheltenham are managed by former Bournemouth and Burnley midfielder Wade Elliott. After his playing career, Elliott held development coaching posts for Bristol City, Forest Green Rovers and Stoke City. He joined Cheltenham as a coach in September 2020, and took the manager’s job in July when previous boss Michael Duff left to manage Barnsley.
Schumacher Says
“If we learned anything from the other two games against Cheltenham this season it is that they are really tight games. The first one, when we beat them at their place was close. We could have drew that in the last minute when they had a big chance.
“The game here was close. We couldn't seem to get away from them, but we managed to, just about, in the end. We know we're going to be in for a tough game. It's not going to be easy, and we're going to have to be at our very best."
Team News
Long-term injuries will continue to rule out Mike Cooper, Dan Scarr and Conor Grant, and Schumacher says Adam Randell is unlikely to feature having missed the last two games through an ankle knock. Saxon Earley and Tyreik Wright are cup-tied. Nigel Lonwijk is suspended.
Kick-off Time
The game will kick off at 8pm.
Tickets
Tickets will remain available to purchase online at argyletickets.com, but the Home Park Ticket Office will also be open up until kick-off for supporters wishing to purchase on the day of the fixture.
Turnstiles will open two hours before kick-off, from 6pm. Supporters are advised to enter through the turnstile identified on their match ticket. However, if neighbouring turnstiles have shorter queues, supporters are permitted to enter these to speed up access to the stadium.
Argyle TV
Please note that there is no Argyle TV video coverage of this fixture. The match will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in domestic territories, and is unavailable for streaming overseas due to competition regulations. We apologise for the inconvenience.
Argyle TV will carry audio commentary of the match, with commentary from Charlie Price and Marc Edworthy.
Erin Black will host a pre-match show which will be available for free on YouTube from 7pm. She will be joined by Aaron Cusack.
Audio commentary of the game is available for £2.50 in the UK, and live video streaming is available for overseas supporters.
Click here for more info on Argyle TV.
Sky Sports
The game will be shown on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football, with commentary from David Stowell and Jobi MacEnuff. The show starts at 7.30pm.
