Ward remains upbeat

Despite blowing the chance of a definite place in the third round of the FA Cup, as Cheltenham were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Oxford, manager John Ward was still pleased with his side’s performance.

Steve Guinan had fired the Robins into an early first-half lead and then the home side struck the crossbar twice as Ward’s men dominated the first period.

But Oxford stormed back after the break and after hitting the woodwork themselves, through Eric Sabin, the Frenchman then earned Brian Talbot’s side a replay with a 52nd minute leveller.

‘If we had added another goal in the first-half we would have been saying it was one of our best performances of the season,’ said Ward.

‘But at 1-0 there is always a chance for your opponents to get back into it which Oxford did with a well-taken goal and terrific header.

‘We were then under pressure, but we were strong enough to stand up to that which pleased me because you can’t dominate for 90 minutes, and when things go against you that’s when you learn things about your team and we are now dealing with these things much better now.’