Routine win Goal in each half as Robins ease past Crawley
gloslivesport@reachplc.com
CHELTENHAM Town eased to a third win in succession and it was as comfortable a victory as any Michael Duff has overseen in 99 matches in charge.
Since the 2-1 opening day defeat by Morecambe, Cheltenham have brushed aside Tranmere Rovers and Leyton Orient on the road without conceding.
It was important for Duff that his team registered a positive result at home to follow up the 2-0 midweek success against Plymouth Argyle in the EFL Trophy.
They did so with the minimum of fuss, benefitting from an own goal for the third League Two game in a row as Ben Tozer’s long throw from the right was directed past goalkeeper Glenn Morris by midfielder Dannie Bulman.
Tozer has the ability to launch the ball into the six yard box from anywhere in the final third of the pitch.
Cheltenham have done more work on what is undoubtedly a useful weapon and it is starting to show.
There were other chances, with George Lloyd forcing a save, shooting just wide and heading over from a good position, but it was one way traffic again.
The wing-backs were both heavily involved, with Matty Blair delivering his brightest performance in a Cheltenham shirt yet.
His calibre or character was never in any doubt, but after a pre-season injury he has steadily regained full sharpness and is starting to adapt well to the demands of the role on the right.
On the opposite side, Chris Hussey has made an excellent start to his third season with the club.
He has made major contributions in each of the last two campaigns despite missing virtually the whole of both preseason periods with injury.
Having completed this year’s summer training regime he looks to have taken his performances up yet another notch and there can be few better leftsided players in the division.
While Blair and Hussey asked continual questions of Crawley, Finn Azaz struggled to make an impact in the number 10 role.
He had been nursing an impact injury picked up at Orient the previous weekend and was well shackled by Jake Hessenthaler for the most part.
Azaz, who has been in fine form in recent games, was withdrawn at halftime and replaced by Tom Sang, who made his Football League debut and once again contributed positively.
It took less than three minutes of the second half for Cheltenham to make it 2-0 with Blair setting up his old Doncaster Rovers team mate Andy Williams, who finished expertly for his second of the season.
Duff’s only minor criticism was that his team were not more ruthless in