Darrell Clarke believes Cheltenham’s 1-0 win at Carlisle has now put them in the race to survive in League One this season.
Many had written off the rock-bottom Robins by the time Clarke was appointed at the end of September and they endured a run of 11 games without even scoring at the start of the season.
But Liam Sercombe’s first-half winner at Brunton Park means they have now scored in 10 successive matches since then and they are now just three points from safety.
“We have put ourselves into the fight, I firmly believe,” said Clarke, whose side are still bottom but are now level on points with Carlisle immediately above them.
“Let’s make no bones about it, two or three months ago we were nowhere near it.
“Now, we are fighting and scrapping away and trying as hard as we possibly can to stay in the league.”
Experienced midfielder Sercombe reacted quickest to touch in George Lloyd’s pass after Carlisle goalkeeper Tomas Holy spilled the ball while trying to prevent a corner in the 27th minute.
Cheltenham had lost in-form striker Will Goodwin to injury inside three minutes, but with the strong wind behind them, they began to create chances against a Carlisle side clearly lacking in confidence.
Lloyd had the ball in the net in the eighth minute, but the offside flag was raised.
Carlisle then had a goal disallowed of their own, with Jon Mellish denied in the 20th minute.
Cheltenham opened the scoring and went close again through Rob Street in the 44th minute, before Jordan Gibson saw a shot saved for the hosts before the break.
Carlisle applied pressure in the second half, but a shot over the bar from Dan Butterworth in the 75th minute was all they could muster and they are now without a win in seven.
Clarke was particularly pleased after last week’s 2-1 home defeat by Leyton Orient, who scored two goals in the closing minutes.
“To not get any points from that one and then coming here, it was a big game for both teams,” he said.
“My lads stood up to the challenge. It wasn’t a classic, but it was never going to be in gale force winds and we defended our goal superbly.
“A little bit of quality and a mistake from their goalie and we win the game, so I am delighted.”
Carlisle drop to 23rd following the loss and boss Paul Simpson admitted they were second best on the day.
“We got what we deserved, which is absolutely nothing,” Simpson said.
“I am embarrassed to say it, but Cheltenham wanted it more than us and that’s a rubbish thing to have to say.
“They competed, they won first contacts, got onto second balls and we were poor in possession.
“The mistake was horrendous and I am getting fed up of talking about goalkeeping mistakes. It gave them something to hang on to and they absolutely did that, while we didn’t have enough, it’s as simple as that.”
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
Vlahovic out of Juventus clash with Milan
Dusan Vlahovic will miss Juventus' trip to Milan in Serie A this weekend and is also a doubt for the Champions League game at Aston Villa, head coach Thiago Motta has confirmed.
Vlahovic returned from the international break with a muscle problem in his left thigh, and the manager, after he confirmed the Serbian's absence for Saturday's game at San Siro, was asked about his chances of playing on Wednesday at Villa Park.
"I don't know. He definitely won't be there tomorrow. We hope to have him back as soon as possible," Motta told a press conference on Friday.
"Injuries are part of football. Now it's Vlahovic's turn, but we'll keep playing with the same principles, attacking and defending together."
Vlahovic is the latest of Motta's injury problems at Juventus. Argentine winger Nicolas Gonzalez missed the last six league games and is still unavailable, while Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik is a long-term absentee.
Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz will also miss the game with Milan and defender Juan Cabal recently suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, the same issue which will keep fellow defender Gleison Bremer out for the rest of the season.
"I'm really disappointed for Cabal because, like Bremer, he'll be out for a long time," Motta said.
"This is another reason to push ourselves, to commit that bit more so that these absences don't weigh too heavily."
Juventus go into the game as the only unbeaten side in Serie A but find themselves sixth in the standings in what is so far a very tight title race, with just two points separating Motta's side from leaders Napoli.
"It's very balanced and this is good for both us and the public," Motta said.
"We must all try to continue like this. We have to try to get as many positive results as possible."
Milan are one place behind Juve but six points off Motta's side.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
