Delighted manager Gary Johnson heaped the praise on striker Mo Eisa after his hat-trick helped seal Cheltenham Town’s biggest victory of the season against Port Vale at the LCI Rail Stadium.
Eisa’s first Football League treble played a huge part in the Robins’ 5-1 victory over the Valiants as Cheltenham won for the first time since early January in emphatic style.
“They were three super finishes and well-made goals,” said Johnson.
“It’s great for Mo to score three goals for us because that takes him up there with the other top goal-scorers in this league.
“We knew he had it in him and we have been talking to him about getting into more dangerous positions, and today he was getting in there.
“He’s worked hard this week and has got his rewards.”
Johnson was also pleased that his side managed to seal victory in a key game, with three-points opening up a gap above their mid-table rivals and moving the club further clear of the bottom two.
“We’ve always been looking up but you’ve obviously got to be careful so you’re always looking back as well,” he said.
“This was a key game of course and the lads have come up trumps because they knew it was a key game.
“It’s what you’re in the game for to put smiles on people’s faces but the most important thing was we put smiles on the players faces.
“We have been asking each other when we are going to score three, four or five with all the opportunities that we have been having over the weeks.
“I feel that our squad is getting stronger, but it just needed to jell and it did today.”
“When it went to 1-1 I was pleased with the effort the players put in because we didn’t let our heads drop and then showed the character to score four goals after that.”
“We had to make sure they didn’t get past us so it was a little bit of a pressure game but the lads responded to that pressure."
Elijah Adebayo and Will Boyle got the other goals for the Robins, but despite the prolific attacking display, Johnson also praised his defence for keeping Tom Pope quiet.
“The three centre halves did magnificently because Tom Pope is a real threat at this level," he said. "Not just in at goal, but also at flicking it on to his teammates. so I’m pleased with that because we worked on covering that a lot in the week.
“It was a good win for us today and I’m pleased for everybody.”