Luke Varney’s brilliant volley helped Cheltenham Town secure another three important points over ten-man Yeovil Town in Sky Bet League Two.
For the second match in succession, the Robins found themselves playing against a side depleted after Yeovil’s Tom James was dismissed for a poor challenge on Alex Addai.
The Robins had to wait until the second half to make their man advantage count and it was worth the wait when Varney looped a brilliant effort over Stuart Nelson in the Yeovil goal, as he netted his fourth goal in six games and another crucial three points in Cheltenham’s push up the table.
Boss Michael Duff made one change to the starting eleven that beat Macclesfield 3-2, with January loan signing Jordan Tillson replacing Conor Thomas in midfield.
There was an early scare for the Robins just six minutes in when Yeovil’s Tom James curled a free-kick beyond the reach of Robins stopper Scott Flinders, but the referee spotted a foul in the box and overruled the goal.
Jake Gray was next to test Flinders’ resolve when some good interplay on the edge of the area created a bit of shooting space for Gray, but his fierce drive went well wide of the post.
But the Robins soon found themselves playing against ten men after a reckless tackle from James on the speedy Alex Addai earned the Yeovil man a straight red card from referee Tim Robinson.
The dismissal certainly gave some momentum to Cheltenham’s play and Luke Varney saw a goal disallowed after he was adjudged to be offside, and Chris Clements headed narrowly wide from a dangerous Jordon Forster cross.
Yeovil didn’t change their approach despite being a man down, and they completed a hat-trick of disallowed goals shortly before the end of the first half when Alex Fisher poked the ball past Flinders, only for the linesman to raise his flag for offside.
The start of the second period saw Robins midfielder Clements evade a couple of challenges to pull off a shot, but Stuart Nelson in the Yeovil goal failed to be tested by the effort.
However, there was nothing he could do to stop the Robins taking the lead when a Ryan Broom cross was punched out into the path of Luke Varney, and the striker followed up the spectacular goal he netted against Macclesfield last week with an equally impressive volley beyond Nelson’s reach.
Substitute Rakish Bingham nearly opened his account on his home bow just seconds after the start when a brilliant flick from Varney played Bingham through on goal, but the forward’s effort was pushed away by Nelson.
That opening goal clearly injected a boost of confidence into Varney and moments later he tried another ambitious effort on the half volley – but unfortunately for the striker his powerful strike went just over the crossbar.
Cheltenham’s strikers were enjoying a handful of chances in the second forty-five and Bingham again found himself with plenty of time to pull off a shot. Unfortunately, he miscued his effort and it went wide.
A dominant half-an-hour ensued as the Robins dictated the speed of the game and Jacob Maddox almost put the game beyond Yeovil’s grasp when he weaved his way to the edge of the box to produce a curling effort, but some good defending by the away side allowed them to block his shot.
Yeovil did apply some serious pressure on Cheltenham’s goal deep into additional time, but the Robins held firm to secure back-to-back wins.
ROBINS: Flinders, Broom, Tozer, Forster (Dawson 45’), Raglan, Hussey, Tillson, Clements (Thomas 90+5’), Maddox, Addai (Bingham 37’), Varney. Subs not used: Lovett, Duku, Waters, Pring.
YEOVIL: Nelson, Gafaiti, Dickinson, Warren, Browne (Abrahams 72’), Worthington, Fisher (Duffus 79’), Gray, James, Alcock, Dobre (Arquin 75’). Subs not used: Baxter, Mugabi, Rogers, Seager.
REFEREE: Tim Robinson
ATTENDANCE: 2,475 (200 from Yeovil)