Ian Baraclough praised goalscorer Matty Taylor after he fired Cheltenham to victory at Cambridge.
The Robins lifted themselves within five points from safety in League One after a first win on their travels since December, after losing by a single goal at Northampton, Bolton and Derby.
Taylor has scored in each of his two appearances since signing from Forest Green in the January transfer window.
“Who do you want on the end of it but him?” Baraclough said afterwards, speaking to the media in place of Cheltenham boss Darrell Clarke.
“It’s the only place he can put it, in that corner, and he’s found it. That’s why we wanted to bring him in and that’s why he’s in the building.
“The Derby game and the Bolton game I thought we were excellent and should have come away with something. We were a little bit off it last week (losing 3-1 at home to Wycombe), so a perfect response to what could have been a tricky situation and a tricky game, because Cambridge have been quite decent at home.
“The middle of the park we tightened up, we won most of the second balls, we tried to play a little bit more when we got the ball and that’s where the goal from Taylor comes in.”
Baraclough also praised goalkeeper Luke Southwood following several vital stops before half-time.
“It’s when you want your keeper to stand up and make big saves,” he said. “He’s done that and I’ve just said to him it’s as much him scoring the winner as Tayls has because there are three big moments in the first half.”
Neil Harris felt his Cambridge side had plenty of chances to secure a result but bemoaned their failure to take them.
“It was a poor performance that culminates in a really poor result,” said Harris. “It’s my biggest disappointment since I’ve been at the club.
“Today the first goal was going to be key against Cheltenham. We’ve missed four one-on-ones and two absolute sitters in the six-yard box, had a stonewall penalty turned down and they’ve scored from their only shot on target.
“My glass is definitely half-empty. I can accept a poor performance if you get a clean sheet or a result out of it.
“I could only see Cheltenham scoring one of two ways. One was smashing it in the box and picking up a second ball, which they’re very, very good at, or us shooting ourselves in the foot by giving the ball away, which we did leading to the goal.
“It was a really composed finished by an accomplished striker but we didn’t help ourselves with it. We gave a poor goal away and we weren’t good enough to score. It’s not a good combination in football.”
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life after Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life without Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
Pirlo sacked as Sampdoria head coach after dismal Serie B start
Andrea Pirlo has been sacked as Sampdoria's head coach after just over a season at the helm.
Pirlo, who managed Juventus for the 2020-21 campaign, has been relieved of his duties after an underwhelming start to their Serie B season.
After finishing seventh in Italy's second tier last term, the 45-year-old was given the green light to try and return to Serie A at the second time of asking.
However, an opening day draw with Frosinone was followed up with back-to-back defeats to Reggiana and Salernitana, leaving them second-bottom in the division.
During his time in charge, Pirlo won 18 of his 45 matches in charge (D10 L17), averaging 1.42 points per game, a total only bettered by his time with Juventus (2.15).
Sampdoria return to the Stadio Luigi Ferraris this weekend in search of their first three points of the season, welcoming Bari to Genoa on Saturday.
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