Allen's anger as Cheltenham Town are pegged back

Cheltenham Town 2 Brighton & Hove Albion 2: It is an age-old conundrum that every football manager has to address at some time or another: What do you do if your players are trying to hold on to a lead when under increasing pressure in the final stages of a crucial game? Stick or twist?

It was a predicament that Martin Allen was forced to deal with late on Saturday afternoon as his side held what looked to be a comfortable two-goal lead against fellow relegation candidates Brighton & Hove Albion.

Goals from impressive midfielder Ian Westlake and defender Chris Westwood had put Cheltenham firmly in the driving seat going into the final 15 minutes of the clash that Allen had labelled as 'important as a cup final' earlier in the week.

The Robins, however, were forced on to the back foot by desperate Brighton boss Micky Adams, who had resorted to loading the ball forward on to the head of defender-turned-emergency-striker Adam Virgo to try to salvage something from the wreckage caused by a woeful first-half performance.

Allen's response was to stick defender Andy Gallinagh introduced as part of a back five in place of striker Elvis Hammond in a bid to try to counter the increased aerial threat and protect the seemingly insurmountable lead in the dying stages.

Within three minutes of the change, veteran marksman Nicky Forster had offered the visitors hope by directing a Tommy Fraser cross past helpless goalkeeper Scott Brown with his head.

Catastrophe then struck deep into injury-time, when defender Andy Hinshelwood rose highest to divert a near-post Dean Cox corner into the net to bring an end to Cheltenham's grim resistance and grab a most unlikely share of the spoils.

"I have no regrets about the decision," Allen explained afterwards. "It was a positive move and the right thing to do at that time. We had suffered a few scares and they were throwing men forward so it was an obvious change.

"The big fella (Virgo) up front was causing us problems and it was looking very dodgy. I thought we had enough to hold on for the victory but it wasn't to be, and that is just the way it goes sometimes."

The post-match narrative could have taken on a vastly different mood had striker Ashley Vincent converted a simple opportunity soon after Forster's goal. Good work and a penetrative cross by substitute Josh Low created the chance for Vincent at the far post, but with the goal gaping he could not convert the chance.

Vincent then forced a fine save out of Brighton goalkeeper John Sullivan with a vicious low drive seconds later as Cheltenham looked to take advantage of their opponents' gung-ho approach by mounting attacks on the break.

"To get two goals ahead and then miss a chance to get a third and bury the game was difficult to take," Allen said. "If Ashley scored (with) that chance, we would be stood here celebrating a great victory."

Allen's tactical decision was not the only verdict that could have had a bearing on Cheltenham's failure to earn their first three points in over a month.

The manager was left seething over controversial refereeing decisions that he argued had a substantial effect on the outcome of the match.

The official on this occasion, Chris Sarginson, was accused of wrongly deciding to award Brighton a throw-in before they went on to win the corner from which they grabbed their equaliser.

"It was a diabolical decision," Allen fumed. "The linesman clearly gave the throw to us and was in a much better position than the referee to make that decision.

"It is just another decision that has gone against us at a crucial time and our players are livid. We have to live with that at the moment because those things are going against us."

The events that defined the match in the later stages somewhat overshadowed what had been an impressive performance from Allen's men for the best part of 80 minutes.

Adams was contradictory in his response to Allen's 'cup final' remark, by reasoning that his opposite number's use of such analogies is 'why they call the Mad Dog a bit mad'.

However, the Seagulls boss admitted that the Cheltenham players 'quickly realised the importance of the game' to render his own side relatively useless in a first half where they trailed as early as the seventh minute.

The opening goal came off the weaker right foot of Westlake from the edge of the penalty area to cap what was an impressive display just hours after he committed his short-term future to the Cheltenham cause by signing a deal until the end of the season, following an agreement to leave parent club Leeds United on Friday.

He almost doubled the lead in the 32nd minute with a deftly-placed chip from the edge of the box that had to be desperately parried away by Sullivan.

Skipper John Finnigan also had a vicious volley from the edge of the box deflected behind for a corner in an opening period where Robins goalkeeper Brown was a virtual bystander, such was the impotence of Brighton's offensive play.

"I think that people were starting to write my obituaries at that point," admitted Adams, who is under fire after a horror run of just one win in the last 12 outings.

The withdrawal of former Cheltenham loanee Stuart Fleetwood, who was poor on his return to Whaddon Road, and ineffective wideman Kevin McLeod in favour of Dean Cox and David Livermore brought about an improvement.

Still, Brown remained inactive until forced to batter away a vicious close range effort from Trinidad & Tobago World Cup star Chris Birchall in the 77th minute – by which time Cheltenham had doubled their advantage.

The second goal came on the hour, when Westwood bundled home an Alex Russell corner to score his second goal in as many games since arriving on loan from Peterborough earlier this month.

The late interventions of Forster and Hinshelwood, however, left supporters to nurse an overwhelming sense of disappointment as they filed out of the ground at the final whistle.

"I can understand that," Allen admitted. "We have to try and be positive because it is another point on the board and every one of those is hard earned. We just need a little bit of luck to come our way and we will be fine and we also have to remember that there is still a very long way to go."

Cheltenham Town (4-4-2): Brown; Bird, Westwood, Duff, Ridley; Vincent, Finnigan (Russell 46), Westlake, Bignall (Low 57); Hammond (Gallinagh 75), Owusu. Subs not used: Puddy, Watkins.

Brighton & HA (4-4-2): Sullivan; Virgo, Hinshelwood, Elphick, Whing; Birchall, Fraser, El-Abd (Loft 71), McLeod (Livermore 46); Fleetwood (Cox 46), Forster. Subs not used: Kuipers, Hawkins.