Duff can’t get enough of May display

Posted Sunday, January 05, 2020 by PA

Cheltenham boss Michael Duff praised forward Alfie May as he capped an impressive debut with a goal in the 3-0 home win over Oldham.

Max Sheaf and Ryan Broom were also on target for the Robins, who picked up their first win in six to move back into the Sky Bet League Two play-off places.

May, who arrived from Doncaster on a two-and-a-half year deal, gave the home fans plenty to be excited about on his first appearance for the club.

“That’s what Alfie is all about,” Duff said. “He has an eye for goal and I am delighted because it’s always pleasing when someone comes in and scores on their debut.

“It’s a weight off his back immediately and he was also unlucky to have one disallowed.as well.

“He works his socks off and we want legs in the team.

“A lot of players we’ve signed have been that sort of age, with something to prove. He fits that mould.

“People may look at him and he’s not 6ft 4in so they might ask why we’ve signed him.

“But we don’t want to boom it, yes we do need a physical target sometimes, but he runs in behind, harries people. He’s not just a crisp packet blowing around the pitch, there is a lot of quality in there as well.”

The only negative for Cheltenham was a suspected broken leg for goalkeeper Scott Flinders in the second half.

Sheaf had struck in the 32nd minute, finishing well after Tahvon Campbell’s pull-back from the left. It was the first EFL goal of the Hull loanee’s career.

Campbell was denied by Zeus de la Paz after running through one-on-one following a pass from Sheaf.

May had the ball in the net five minutes before the break, but it was disallowed for handball.

The hosts pressed for a second goal after half-time but Flinders was forced off on a stretcher after a collision with Scott Wilson in the 57th minute.

May made it 2-0 in the 76th minute after more good work from Campbell, firing in from close range after his initial effort was blocked.

Substitute goalkeeper Rhys Lovett made the save of the match to keep out a powerful strike from Oldham substitute Chris Eagles, before Broom added the third deep into time added on after Sean Long’s pass.

Oldham boss Dino Maamria admitted his team were lacking due to a bad run of injuries as they slumped to their third win in succession.

“A week is definitely a long time in football and I actually knew this period was going to be quite testing for us,” Maamria said.

“We had a very good run of eight games, winning four, drawing three and losing one.

“We had a settled team, playing a certain way and then you get the mad period over Christmas with four games in two weeks, which stretched our team.

“I have three or four key players missing. I have one or two coming back from long-term injuries.

“Before then we looked resilient, hard to beat, scoring goals and now we look a totally different team.

“We look like we can’t defend or score goals. That’s due to the change in personnel and injuries we’ve suffered, so it’s always going to be difficult.

“We know we need to strengthen, but it was good to see (Christopher) Missilou back and I thought he was our best player, showing commitment and desire after two months out.”