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Forest Green Rovers' gameplan perfectly executed

A goalkeeping blunder in the second half aside, this was pretty much the complete away performance from Forest Green.

It was a day to savour for their 944 travelling supporters, who saw their team move top of the league with a second League Two win at the home of their fiercest rivals. The last one, in April 2018, kept them in the Football League.

On this occasion, they ended an unbeaten streak of 18 games at the Jonny-Rocks Stadium stretching back until January for Michael Duff's men, who had no answers.

Rovers won both the tactical battle and, particularly in the first half, the physical one.

Celtic youngster Jack Aitchison opened the scoring in the 15th minute with his third goal in as many games.

It stemmed from a mistake by Ryan Broom, which allowed Matty Stevens to beat two men and supply from the left before Aitchison exchanged passes with Liam Shephard and finished neatly.

Elliott Frear, who very nearly joined Cheltenham from Forest Green in 2016 before moving to Motherwell, should have made it 2-0 in the 28th minute, but he headed wide of the near post when a ball reached him totally unmarked.

But Frear capped a bright opening half with the first goal of his second spell at Rovers in the 40th minute.

Ebou Adams' pass caught out the home defence and Frear finished past Scott Flinders to put his team in a commanding position at the break.

They surrendered a 2-0 lead at Cheltenham last season and when Luke Varney nodded in his sixth of the season when Joe Wollacott fumbled Chris Clements' low free-kick in the 65th minute, the home side had hope.

But young Bristol City loan goalkeeper Wollacott was not seriously tested thereafter, although he did claim a corner in stoppage time under considerable pressure and with Flinders pushed forward in a bid to cause havoc in the box.

Rovers now more than just a moneybags club

Forest Green had outstanding performers all over the pitch, with former Ebbsfleet United midfielder Adams the pick of the bunch.

Aitchison, Frear, Stevens and big defender Farrend Rawson were among the others to excel on the big occasion, while some of Cheltenham's key men were well shackled for the majority of the 90 minutes.

The home team did not move the ball quickly enough, but they were not allowed to by their well-drilled opponents.

Mark Cooper does not appear to have much interest in making friends along the way, but he has built one hell of a team.

When Forest Green first benefitted from Dale Vince's financial backing just under a decade ago, they were often guilty of signing players with big reputations, some of whom perhaps joined them for all the wrong reasons.

It therefore took them far longer than it should have to win promotion from the National League.

But the current squad is full of youngsters building their own reputations and whatever cash has been invested has been done so wisely.

They have changed their modus operandi in a bid to develop players and have had success in recent years, selling several of them for handsome fees.

For the time being they are Gloucestershire's top dogs, but the challenge for Cheltenham is now there to push them all the way.

They will have another opportunity to end their winless run against the Nailsworth club, which is more than 21 years, when they meet again at the New Lawn on March 28, by which time both clubs' promotion credentials will be far clearer.

Rohan Ince sparks Cheltenham's second half improvement

Ince was sent on in place of Charlie Raglan at half-time and gave the best indication yet of what he might be able to add in the middle of the pitch.

Raglan had been cautioned in the first half, so to lessen the risk of a dismissal, Duff moved Sean Long to the right of the back three, Conor Thomas to right wing-back and Ince joined Jake Doyle-Hayes in midfield.

Ince's presence gave Cheltenham more physicality after Adams and Carl Winchester had found things much too easy during the opening 45 minutes.

There were some rusty touches, which is understandable after having so little football in the past 18 months, but the only way the former Chelsea and Brighton man is going to rediscover his full match sharpness is by playing competitive minutes.

He also made the odd mistimed challenge, including one absolute poleaxing of man of the match Adams in the 90th minute.

The key now is restoring Ince to full fitness and keeping him there because if he is operating at 100 per cent, there is no doubt he will be an influential figure between now and the end of the campaign.

The same applies to front man Reuben Reid, who is not far away from taking part in a training ground friendly as he works his way back from summer knee surgery.

Highest home league crowd for six years

Not since the visit of Bradford City on April 27, 2013 have Cheltenham attracted a higher crowd for a league fixture.

There were 5,888 inside the ground that day, including 1,495 away supporters, so there were 500 extra home fans in attendance for the latest installment of the Gloucestershire derby on Saturday.

The atmosphere created was electric at times, with the noisy contingent of Cheltenham followers gathered behind the goal rather than their usual position in block seven of the Colin Farmer Stand.

The acoustics at the Prestbury Road end of the ground may not be particularly helpful, which is why the club are so keen to raise the roof in the near future, but they still made themselves heard, as did the visiting supporters.

Football in the county has never been in a healthier state and most successful clubs need the threat of a nearby rival to keep pushing them onwards.

Attentions now turn to the FA Cup

Cheltenham have not beaten Forest Green in a competitive game since August 1998, but they have an exceptional record against Swindon Town, who visit next Saturday in the FA Cup first round.

Since the first meeting in 2002, there have been nine Cheltenham wins and four draws, with just two victories for Swindon, who drew 2-2 at the Jonny-Rocks Stadium in League Two earlier this season.

The only previous FA Cup meeting saw Cheltenham thrash Swindon, who were in League One at the time, 5-0, with Byron Harrison firing a hat-trick.

There will be another noisy away following inside the stadium and although Swindon will provide a stern test, a win over another club from not too far down the road would be the best possible way for Cheltenham to respond to the derby disappointment of this weekend.

Cheltenham Town: S Flinders; C Raglan (R Ince 46), B Tozer, J Greaves; S Long, C Thomas, J Doyle-Hayes (C Clements 57), R Broom, C Hussey; L Varney, G Reilly (J Smith 65). Subs not used: R Lovett, W Boyle, A Addai, G Lloyd.

Forest Green Rovers: J Wollacott; D Bernard, F Rawson, L Kitching, J Mills; E Adams, C Winchester; L Shephard, J Aitchison, E Frear (A Collins 77); Stevens. Subs not used: L Thomas, J Morton, N McGinley, U Godwin-Malife, J Mondal, K Taylor.

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Referee: Kevin Johnson.

Attendance: 5,788 (944 away).

Star Men: Ebou Adams (Forest Green), Rohan Ince (Cheltenham).