Midfielder Kevin Dawson believes the Robins’ spirited second half comeback against Macclesfield Town will help the team find their stride, as he highlighted the importance of the two home ‘cup finals’ to come.
Dawson was brought on at the end of the first half to replace the injured Jordon Forster and made a big impact as his energy and tenacity helped drive Cheltenham on after the interval.
The Irishman made his return to the first team at the end of 2018 against MK Dons after two months out with a medial ligament problem but has now made six appearances off the bench in Cheltenham’s last seven league games.
But the 28-year-old was happy with his contribution in Saturday’s 3-2 win and feels he’s getting back to his best ahead of back to back home games in a week – as Cambridge United and his former club Yeovil Town visit the Jonny-Rocks Stadium.
Dawson said: “I’m delighted, and I’ve been back for a month now but the first couple of weeks were just getting over the injury and looking after myself.
“I feel the last couple of weeks I’ve been hitting my stride in training and getting myself going again so hopefully I can have an impact between now and the end of the season.”
After a disappointing first half against the Silkmen at the weekend, Michael Duff’s side found themselves 2-0 down against their ten-man counterparts heading into the second period.
Striker Luke Varney got the Robins back on track with a spectacular effort before Jacob Maddox and Charlie Raglan completed the turnaround.
Dawson revealed that manager Duff had every belief that his side would progress once they got the first goal when the team went in for their half-time team talk.
“He (Duff) just said make it right and said if we get the first, then we’d get the second and we did so we were delighted,” he continued.
“It’s a massive win there’s no doubt about it, but we can’t get ahead of ourselves. We have two more cup finals to go in this block and then we’ll see where we are after that.”
Dawson now believes he and his teammates must be more consistent over the course of the next few games to avoid a repeat of Saturday’s first half score-line.
“The boys never stopped going and the gaffer always tells us to make the box between the posts,” he added.
“For Rag’s goal (Raglan) there was three or four of us queuing up and for Mads (Maddox); if it wasn’t him waiting then I’m sure it would have been someone else, but I’m delighted for him because it was a great finish.
“We definitely need to be more consistent and find our stride again but today’s definitely going to help.”
The win moved Cheltenham up to 18th in the Sky Bet League Two table and five points above the relegation zone and Duff’s men welcome Cambridge to the Jonny-Rocks Stadium in their next league encounter on Saturday.
The U’s are level on points with the Robins coming into another huge match and you can get your tickets for the game and our other February home fixtures against Yeovil Town and Port Vale by clicking here.