Cheltenham Town secured a vital 2-0 victory over Salford City to stay top of Sky Bet League Two after goals from Sean Long and Liam Sercombe.
Long headed the ball into the net very early on thanks to another advantageous long throw from fellow defender Ben Tozer.
Sercombe then added a goal just short of half-time to make it even more comfortable for the home side.
The second half was much less actioned packed as Michael Duff’s side looked to secure the three points, which could be vital come the end of the season.
Just two minutes into the game Ben Tozer launched one of his infamous long throws into the area and fellow centre-back Long was able to get his head to it at the near post to open the scoring.
The early lead gave Cheltenham an air of confidence and saw them take control of the early phases of the game.
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Salford did start to grow into the game but as was the case for most of the first half, they lacked a true threat upfront – only having two shots, which both went off target.
With this, Cheltenham continued to look the most dangerous and had a chance through Alfie May who chased onto a lobbed through ball but couldn’t quite direct his lobbed effort into the net.
That pressure then paid off moments before the break when Liam Sercombe got onto a Blair cross at the back post to make it two-nil.
The three points would be crucial as the Robins continue their chase for an automatic promotion place with just 10 games to go this season.
Despite this, it was a blistering start to the second half for Cheltenham with chances falling to both Sam Smith and May.
The former worked the opportunity well cutting in from the right and aiming a shot at the near post but Václav Hladky claimed it well at the second attempt for the visitors.
May had a similar chance as the ball ended up at his feet following to great tackles by Callum Wright and Smith. The striker could only curl the ball wide of the right post though.
Salford thought they had got one back in the 70th minute after an overhead kick from Emmanuel Dieseruvwe found the net.
However, the referee continued his form of giving decisions largely due to the volume of complaints, and ruled the goal out after a discussion with his linesman.
Very little happened for the rest of the game as Tozer and co looked to soak up the pressure and grind out the result.
Duff will be even more pleased that close rivals Forest Green Rovers lost to fellow promotion chasers Cambridge United and can no longer go ahead of Cheltenham if they were to win their game in-hand.
The Robins remain top of the league with 65 points after 36 games so far this season.
