A stunning goal from Alfie May helps secure a vital win for the Robins at home after beating Fleetwood Town 1-0.
May broke the deadlock in the 56th minute by scoring a sensational volley from outside the box to give Cheltenham the win after an impressive performance by Wade Elliot’s men at the Completely-Suzuki Stadium.
The first half started off very nervously for both teams with lot of possession being obtained by Fleetwood as they looked dangerous and made a good start to the game.
The first chance came from a free kick for Fleetwood in the fourth minute which was whipped in by Lewis Harrington but a foul in the box meant that Cheltenham escaped the first chance at goal in the game.
Cheltenham’s first chance of the game came in the eighth minute from a free kick by Aidan Keena who hit the ball very low, striking the wall and was then eventually cleared by Fleetwood.
Soon play began to smoothen out as both teams started to spread the play with through balls playing a crucial part in the chances that were created.
In a game that was going to come down to taking every single chance, several Cheltenham opportunities came from runs down the wing from Ryan Broom who linked up well with his wingers to threaten the Fleetwood goalkeeper Jay Lynch.
However, after three minutes of added time, the two teams went into the changing rooms neck and neck with both of them looking for a goal to break open the game.
As the second half started, the Robins soon got a grip on the game and unleashed a wave of attacks with Lynch having to make some important stops as Cheltenham began to dominate despite having less possession.
Good interchanging passes from Broom, May and Will Ferry kept Fleetwood’s defence busy in the second half, along with Caleb Taylor and Charlie Raglan staying strong to win headers at the back and defuse any Fleetwood attacks.
Fleetwood's Carlos Mendes Gomes threatened the Robins’ defence though, continuously sprinting down the wing, however the forward couldn’t get the ball in the net.
As the game crept on in the second first half it looked like the Robins were heading towards a draw with the match very much still in the balance.
That was until Ferry displayed quick feet to burn down the wing and test Fleetwood’s defence, his cross was then deflected in the air and it fell to May who volleyed the ball with his right foot as it sored into the top right corner of the goal to give Cheltenham a 1-0 lead in the 56th minute, going into the last third of the match. May scored his 10th league goal this season and his 12th in all competitions.
Cheltenham hung on to their crucial one goal lead as Fleetwood continued to threat along with Captain Josh Vela trying to spur on his teammates.
But continuous Cheltenham attacks followed as they looked to have found confidence now that they had the lead with May being at the heart of all attacking going forward.
Soon tempers started to flare for Fleetwood and it showed as Vela eventually got yellow carded after fouling Ferry, who had woven in and out of defenders to earn a free kick.
With the game coming to an end, and in the 4 minutes of added time, May went through on goal one last time and tried to take on Lynch, but Lynch got down and blocked the ball as Cheltenham could have doubled their lead.
The last chance of the game came for Fleetwood who overshot a corner and the ball was kicked up the field. The referee then blew his whistle and Cheltenham had beaten Fleetwood 1-0 in a vital game for the Robins to climb into 18th and go four points clear from the relegation zone.
Robins – Southwood, Long ©, Raglan, Sercombe (Rea 87), May, Taylor (Bradbury 63), Ferry, Jackson, Bonds, Keena (Olayinka 90), Broom
Un-used substitutes – Williams, Brown, MacDonald, Perry
Fleetwood – Lynch, Andrew (Patterson 68), Mendes Gomes, Vela ©, Stockley, Robertson (Batty 68), Warrington (Marriot 57), Holgate, Nsiala, Rooney (Macadam 80), Earl
Un-used substitutes – Williams, Wiredu, Johnson
Referee- Sam Allison
Crowd capacity – 3,323 (114 away)