Duff delighted by Robins’ dogged away-day show

MICHAEL Duff was happy to see his team fight it out and come out with a winning result in Cheltenham Town’s first ever competitive meeting with Harrogate Town.

On a freezing evening in North Yorkshire and on a hard pitch Will Boyle’s first-half header was the difference as the Robins clinched three points and recorded a first away win in six outings on Tuesday night.

The result left Duff ’s side sitting in third place in the League Two table, a point behind Forest Green Rovers and four points behind leaders Cambridge United.

Duff was happy to see his team hold onto their lead against a Harrogate side who went into the game on the back of two wins, while he also praised the performance from substitute Sean Long who performed well in a central midfield position after coming on for Chris Clements during the first half.

Speaking to the club website afterthe 1-0 win, Duff said it had been an attritional contest and freely admitted that it had not been “pretty” but he praised his player’s “doggedness and resilience” on a difficult surface.

He was also encouraged to see another clean sheet, their third in a row and matching their best league sequence since March 2017.

He said: “The pitch was not conducive to good football but in a game of few chances we had them, in the first half particularly.”

He added: “It was a really hardfought away performance, everyone knew ther job.”

Duff said he did not think the player’s recent Covid enforced lay-off had had had any ill effects on their display.

He said: “We were in a good place before the break, You’re not going to de-train in a week or forget your roles.”

Ryan Hill’s first-half strike ensured Eastleigh extended their unbeaten run to five matches with a 1-0 National League home win over Yeovil. The Glovers came close with two early chances but Albi Skendi and Reuben Reid failed to score. Hill broke the deadlock three minutes from half-time, as he slotted Tyrone Barnett’s assist into the bottom corner. Both sides started the secondhalf slowly and Yeovil enjoyed a spell of possession but failed to score.

Bristol City’s FA Cup fifth-round tie at Sheffield United last night kicked off too late for the Western Daily Press deadline