The Robins took a very early lead through a Charlie Brown header as he latched onto a long throw that bounced in the box.

We could have equalised through Louis Flower as he had time and space to fire a shot on goal, but he decided to round the keeper. The decision proved costly as he fell to the ground under pressure from keeper Shaun MacDonald, but the referee brandished a yellow card for simulation.

Leo Castledine did go close early in the second with an inadvertent effort which was heading towards the goal, but the keeper collected well.

Despite our attempts to equalise, the home side unleashed a barrage of attacks which allowed them to add further damage to the scoreline late on.

Brown grabbed his second just after Liam Sercombe doubled the lead, and Ryan Broom with the last kick of the game scored a fourth.

Our development squad were looking to reach the last eight of the EFL Trophy, but there were a number of players missing due to first team commitments, so Mark Robinson gave squad opportunities to some of the younger players within the Academy.

Donnell McNeilly, in fine scoring form for the Under-18s, was handed a start in attack, with Flower also being given a starting berth.

Our top goalscorer in the competition, Malik Mothersille, completed the front three as he looked to add to his tally.

Nervous start

A slow start from our young Blues allowed the home side to take the lead as Brown headed home to give his team the lead. A long throw-in into the box bounced unchallenged and the midfielder was given space to finish.

Beach had to make a terrific stop to keep out the tricky May whose left-footed shot was heading for the bottom corner.

Golden chance

We settled into the game eventually after a nervous start and had a huge chance to level the scores.

A fast break saw Castledine play a perfect pass to the isolated Flower in the box, and the striker attempted to round the keeper. He did go down in the box due to pressure from the keeper, but the referee adjudged it to have been a dive as Flower was booked.

Dan Nlundulu was having a good first half and he got on the end of a cross into the box but his shot was scuffed wide whilst in a good position.

Good intent

We came out for the second period with intent and went close to getting an equaliser as a Williams cross into the area found Castledine, but the young midfielder failed to judge the flight of the ball as it bounced off him into the arms of the keeper.

Lacking final pass

A consistent theme in the game was our ability to get close to our opponents’ goal but the final ball was not matching the good approach play.

One of our best moves of the game came just after the hour mark as an interchange of passes between McMahon and Josh Brooking released Abu whose left-footed shot needed to be saved by MacDonald.

Substitute Christian Norton went close as he lashed an effort that just went off target.

The match was put beyond our young Blues’ reach as Sercombe latched onto a Norton pass to double the home side’s lead.

Brown added to his tally as a scruffy finish inside the box gave the Robins their third of the match.

There was still enough time for the home side to score another as Broom made it four. He entered the area and curled a shot into the net with assistance from the post.

It was a scoreline which flattered the hosts as our young side did their best to compete with the League One outfit.

This loss ends our 11-game unbeaten run in all competitions, as well as being the final game of 2022 for our development squad.

Chelsea (3-4-3): Eddie Beach; Josh Brooking, Alfie Gilchrist (c), Zak Sturge; Derrick Abu, Cesare Casadei, Leo Castledine, Dylan Williams; Louis Flower (Harrison McMahon 60), Donnell McNeilly (Michael Golding 14), Malik Mothersille.

Unused subs: Max Merrick, Travis Akomeah, Harrison Murray-Campbell, Kiano Dyer.

Booked: Louis Flower 29; Josh Brooking 90+2.

Cheltenham Town (3-5-2): Shaun MacDonald; Sean Long (c), Ben Williams (Reece Hutchinson 68), Charlie Raglan; Lewis Freestone (Cameron Walters 90+1), Charlie Brown, Liam Sercombe, Dylan, Barkers, Ryan Broom; Dan Nlundulu (George Lloyd 68), Alfie May (Christian Norton 68).

Unused subs: Luke Southwood, Tom Bradbury, Elliott Bonds.

Scorers: Charlie Brown 4, 90; Liam Sercombe 87, Ryan Broom 90+4.

Booked: Charlie Raglan 9; Ryan Broom 59; Charlie Brown 80.