Mark Cooper hails Forest Green reply at Cheltenham

Posted Sunday, April 15, 2018 by PA

Mark Cooper praised his Forest Green side for bouncing back with a much-needed 1-0 win over local rivals Cheltenham Town to ease their relegation fears.

Christian Doidge’s goal late in the first half was enough to seal the points for Rovers, who were beaten 1-0 at Barnet a week earlier to leave them looking nervously over their shoulders.

But they now have a six-point cushion with four matches left and their fate is very much in their own hands, leaving Cooper happy that a brave team selection paid off.

“It was a spirited performance in a local derby where you have to fight and scrap and you get that little bit of quality with Christian’s goal,” Cooper said.

“I’m sure I got hammered for my selections before the game, but a lot of thought and work went into it this week.

“We needed calm heads and aggressive defenders and an aggressive holding midfield in Gavin Gunning and creativity as well – which Reece Brown and Chris Clements provided.

“Gunning has played in midfield before in the Scottish Premier League with Dundee United, so it wasn’t something we pulled out of the air, we knew he could do it.

“In my opinion Reece Brown has Premier League ability it is just trying to get the other side of the game.

“We played him because we identified a big space in front of their back four where he could pick the ball up and twist and turn and that is what he did.”

Cheltenham boss Gary Johnson admitted Forest Green looked like they wanted it more on the day.

“We didn’t start well and they started brighter,” he said. “We didn’t really get ourselves into the game at any point.

“They looked like they were fighting for their lives. Our boys didn’t really turn up in terms of the battle or mental toughness, I suppose, in playing our game against them.

“Credit to them, they have come here and won an important game. The boys are gutted, I am gutted and the supporters are gutted.”