Harrogate Town 2 Cheltenham Town 0: 'Positivity' and 'aggression' key to Sulphurites' success

That was the view of Sulphurites boss Simon Weaver after he saw his team record back-to-back League Two victories for just the second time this season and pull eight points clear of the relegation zone.

Though there was arguably an element of fortune about both of their goals, Town were good value for all three points, enjoying more possession and creating a greater number of chances - particularly during the first half.

And Weaver attributed their strong showing to the way his players approached the contest.

“I’m really happy. It was an emphatic display,” he said.

“But we came in at half-time and it was only 1-0. So, with a narrow score-line, we said go and get another, and if you get a second, try to get a third.

“We tried to be positive with the messages so that the lads could have that psyche about them where they think ‘yeah, we’re a positive team and we are on the front foot’.

“And physically, we looked strong. We were really up for the fight. We were aggressive all over the park tonight.

“There were bodies flying all over the place, but it was them, not us, on the floor.”

Town had much the better of the opening 45 and first threatened when Jack Muldoon’s volley from more than 20 yards out drew a fine diving save from visiting custodian Joe Day.

Jasper Moon then looped a header wide from a James Daly corner when he ought to have done much better.

The hosts continued to press forward and Daly’s superb cross from the left was nodded over his own cross-bar by Cheltenham skipper Scott Bennet with Josh March waiting to pounce.

The resulting corner saw Daly deliver another inviting ball into the Robins’ six-yard box - this time from the right flank - but on this occasion Luke Young’s attempt to clear the danger only resulted in him powering a header into the back of the away net.

A goal to the good with 34 minutes on the clock and Cheltenham seemingly there for the taking, Town upped the ante as the interval approached and twice came close to adding a second.

First, March saw a goal-bound effort inadvertently blocked by team-mate Muldoon following a scramble at another corner, then Daly drilled an effort towards the top corner which Day did well to turn over his cross-bar.

The second period was more even, however Harrogate continued to look the more likely.

With 55 minutes on the clock, Bryn Morris teed up March for a strike inside the box that was deflected narrowly off target. And, from the left-wing corner that followed, Town doubled their advantage.

Morris swung a dangerous ball to the far post and the unfortunate Bennet put through his own net under pressure from Toby Sims.

Morris then came within a whisker of making it 3-0, whipping a free-kick from the left-hand edge of the penalty area towards the far corner and forcing Day into an excellent fingertip stop.

The hosts never really looked likely to surrender that lead during the final third of the contest, with Cheltenham’s only clear opening materialising in the 75th minute, when James Belshaw got down well to keep out Ethan Archer’s shot.

On seeing Town open up a significant gap to the bottom two, albeit having played a couple of games more than both Morecambe and Carlisle, Weaver said: “Back-to-back wins improve the look of the table for us.”