TRANMERE boss Nigel Adkins felt his side were unfortunate to come away with nothing after losing to a late Joel Colwill goal at Cheltenham Town.

The Cardiff loan midfielder fired an angled shot across goalkeeper Luke McGee and inside the bottom left corner in the 89th minute for his sixth goal of the season.

His strike secured the Robins their sixth League Two win of the campaign and lifted them to 14th in the table ahead of Saturday’s fixtures.

But for Rovers, the defeat leaves them 19th and just five points above the relegation zone. 

“It’s a tough one to take at the end,” said Adkins. “The players worked hard and it was a competitive game.

“We started well and Omari Patrick had that chance when he was through and we thought we could cause them a few problems from set pieces and we did.

“We have tried to come here and win the game, that was the intent. We had four or five lads close enough to get a challenge in on the lad for their goal and he’s put it in from an angle.”

The first half was cagey, with neither side able to create much in the way of clear-cut chances.

Robins goalkeeper Joe Day parried well from Patrick before Colwill went down in the box looking for a penalty, but his appeals were ignored.

Colwill fired two efforts off target and also had the ball in the net before half-time, but the offside flag was raised.

Cheltenham winger Jordan Thomas saw a shot blocked by Connor Wood early in the second half before Luke Norris forced Day into a diving save in the 58th minute.

But with the game seemingly heading for a stalemate, Colwill – the game’s outstanding player – had the final say.

"We've been working very hard on the training ground to put us in positions to score more goals but we've got to do it out there," said Adkins. 

"I would've liked us to have been better in possession in the attacking third but you can't fault the players' commitment.

"We'll get home and reflect on this and there's a quick turnaround against Wimbledon on Tuesday which will be a competitive game.

"The fans were great and they sung all game and applauded the players at the end so you can see the commitment and the desire but it's just a shame we didn't come away with something from the game."