Duff hails ‘best team the Robins have had’

MICHAEL Duff hailed his team as the best in Cheltenham Town’s history after their win over Portsmouth.

Liam Sercombe scored the only goal and the result keeps the Robins in the top half of the table with four games left.

They are firmly on course to beat the club’s highest finish of 17th in the third tier and last year’s League Two champions are also now mathematically safe.

“The things that this group keeps doing shouldn’t surprise anybody now,” Duff said.

“In my opinion, it’s the best team this football club has ever had and the stats will probably show you that.

“Look at the players we are leaving out today and that tells you everything.

“They deserve all the credit, but don’t rest on your laurels, go again.

“We’ve never beaten Portsmouth, so that’s another piece of history. These are all good markers and it won’t last forever, it never does.

“Enjoy it while we can and don’t take things for granted. Don’t think we are a mid-table League One team now because we are not.”

Midfielder Sercombe struck in the 76th minute after Kion Etete held it up and found Callum Wright, who supplied Sercombe and he beat Gavin Bazunu.

It was enough to extinguish any fading hopes of a late play-off push for Danny Cowley’s Pompey side.

Both teams had chances to take the lead before the decisive moment, with the goalkeepers pulling off an outstanding save each in the second period.

Bazunu pulled off a brilliant diving stop to keep out Wright’s 25yard drive, which looked destined for the top right corner in the 73rd minute.

Four minutes earlier at the other end, Owen Evans reacted superbly to turn Michael Jacobs’ effort over the bar.

Cowley admitted his side fell short in the second half after an even opening.

“It was incredibly disappointing and an unacceptable second half performance,” he said.

“I felt we had a good place in the game in the first half, tactically and we turned them over maybe 10 or 11 times in their own half, but we lacked a bit of quality in most of those moments.

“Second half, we were well short in the pre-requisites of energy and intensity and quality.”