It has been a hard slog in 2023 for Cheltenham Town since having won their first match of the year on Valentine’s Day, away at Cambridge United.
The Robins have lost 4-0 to Barnsley, 3-0 to both Derby County and Portsmouth, and fell agonisingly short of their first Wembley trip in over a decade having been knocked out of the EFL Trophy on penalties at Plymouth Argyle.
Wade Elliott’s men were yet to win at the Completely-Suzuki Stadium since the turn of the year, with their last victory on home soil coming in mid-November when they beat Wycombe Wanderers 1-0 with Alfie May scoring the only goal of the game.
As the story has run for Town over the past 24 months, May would be the saviour again as his 65th minute wonder-volley was enough to take all three points, extending the gap to the relegation zone to four points.
After the match, head coach Elliott exclaimed how the points were the most important take away from the match.
“The points (were the most important thing),” Elliott explained. “I thought it was a well-earned win, and there is no getting away from it. There was pressure on the game. The players are the ones who have to carry the weight of it and I thought taking that into consideration, the performance out there was really good. It was a well-earned and well-derived win.”
Cheltenham recorded 17 shot on goal in the match, their most since a loss to Bristol Rovers on New Year’s Day, and the head coach was pleased with the attacking play. “You can see we made loads of chances and when the goal did come it was a brilliant finish. To be fair to Alfie his performance earned it, we always talk about good performances paying you back, and his performances put him into a little bit of credit where he deserved his goal.”
“It is a new group and we have been working on a way to play we are coming to a point where a lot of the stuff is starting to bed in, they understand it and there are one or two tweaks from time to time.
“I always ask to be on the front foot and to be aggressive, We needed to shake the shackles off a little bit and not be paralysed by the pressure, to have any fear and to go out and attack the game.”
One of the main negatives that fans have noted this season is the style of play, but with May linking up well with new strike partner Aidan Keena, the progression is starting to show. “I thought we took the ball, players took the ball, and under pressure they passed the ball, which is a hard decision when you go out and try not to make a mistake, sometimes that can do the opposite. That shows real courage.”
Elliott was pleased with the fans reaction, understanding the tenseness. “I think we saw a difference in everyone (after the goal was scored) to be honest, it was a little bit tense, a little nervy, but I thought after the goal it gave everyone a lift, the atmosphere a lift and the team grew. After the first hour I thought it was a little nervy, but in the last half hour they really got behind us and helped us get home.”
Despite the good result on the pitch, the main worry will be for centre back Caleb Taylor, who was removed from the field due to injury. “We had to bring him off, he felt something in his hamstring, but it is far too early to say what the diagnosis is.”
Taylor had fans worried in the first half after looking uncomfortable, but Elliott was quick to squash the fears: “I think he just had something in his eye during the first half.”
“I just said to the players it is one down, Enjoy the moment because it is important. Get around each other cause they deserved it. We spoke on Thursday morning about 13 games to go, So it is one down and 12 to go. Now we focus on Tuesday, to get a similar performance.”
“Did I really enjoy much of today, probably not, because you do all your work, I got full trust and belief in the players, but a lot of it is out of your control at this point.
“It is a privilege, as someone (Glenn Johnson) used to say, pressure is a privilege. Enjoy the challenge and the adversity. This is when we find out about people and I have said this for a while is that one thing we have got in the dressing room is character.”
With the Robins picking up most of their points during evening games this season, so Elliott told of how he was going to enjoy a victorious Saturday. “I’m pretty boring, It will be Ant and Dec, a cup of tea, I might stop off somewhere and get some chocolates as a treat.”
Cheltenham Town are next in action tomorrow night at the Completely-Suzuki Stadium as they face Lincoln City in League One.
