Michael Duff delighted as Cheltenham battle to Carlisle victory
Posted Wednesday, February 12, 2020 by PA
Cheltenham manager Michael Duff hailed his side’s battling character in a 1-0 win against Carlisle.
A first-half goal from Reuben Reid handed Cheltenham a victory which ended Carlisle’s run of five games without defeat.
The win puts Town’s promotion drive back on track after failing to win any of their previous six away games.
“That was more like us today,” said Duff. “I wasn’t so much interested in the technical things, the performance was what I was looking for.
“We were hanging on at the end when Carlisle had five up front.
“In the first half, playing into the wind, we picked them off and if we had been more clinical in the first 75 minutes we could and should have been more than one up.
“We defended for our lives and really battled away. The clean sheet was very important.
“We put our bodies on the line. You can’t achieve things in August and September when the pitches are lush. It’s nights like this when the conditions are horrible. The difference was we were prepared to put bodies on the line.
“We have 15 games to go, nine at home. You have to turn up with that mentality and desire which we showed today every single week.
“For clubs of our ilk, 50 points is a marker and I’m happy to get there in February.”
Reid scored his goal in the 26th minute after Chris Hussey whipped in a free-kick which he was on hand to fire home from close range at the far post.
Carlisle piled on late pressure, forcing Town goalkeeper Owen Evans twice to get down well to grab crosses from Jack Iredale, but the visitors defended resolutely to clinch the win.
Carlisle head coach Chris Beech said: “I am proud of the lads’ effort, we pushed them all the way.
“They had to resort to the dark arts at times and the referee didn’t spot it. I’m disappointed that he didn’t get on top of the situation. It might have been a better game.
“We had chances and probably should have scored from them. Theirs was a soft goal. With a little bit more quality and luck things might have been different.”
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