Bristol Rovers ended a seven-match scoring drought in style with a comfortable 3-1 win at relegation-threatened Cheltenham.

Scott Sinclair opened the scoring in the first half, with Brandon Aguilera and Elkan Baggott adding two more after the break before Liam Sercombe’s stoppage-time consolation for the hosts.

Rovers skipper Antony Evans also saw a first-half penalty saved, but Cheltenham offered very little as their survival chances suffered another major blow.

Sinclair opened the scoring in the 12th minute, finishing neatly past Luke Southwood and inside the bottom left corner after being played in by Luke Thomas.

Evans was brought down in the box by Southwood 10 minutes before half-time, but the goalkeeper redeemed himself by diving to his left to keep out the spot-kick.

Cheltenham, managed by ex-Rovers boss Darrell Clarke, made two changes at half-time, but they were not able to find a way back into the game and it was 2-0 in the 56th minute.

Thomas found substitute Aguilera and he rolled a shot into the bottom right corner.

Former Cheltenham loanee Baggott headed the third from Harvey Vale’s corner in the 76th minute.

Sercombe was set up by fellow ex-Rovers player Matty Taylor in the 94th minute, but it was too little, too late for Cheltenham.

Darrell Clarke admitted his Cheltenham side are “falling at the last hurdle” in their survival bid after they went down 1-0 at home to already-relegated Carlisle.

Sam Lavelle’s first-half goal was enough to seal the points for the Cumbrians, whose fate was sealed by a 2-0 defeat at Northampton last Saturday.

Cheltenham knew a win would lift them out of the bottom four for the first time since mid-August, but they came up short and Clarke admitted he is scratching his head over the performance.

“I am very disappointed with our performance and with the whole night,” Clarke said.

“Yet again, after a poor first half, I am searching for answers and I am not coming up with the right solutions at the minute.

“The group is lacking a bit of confidence, but it’s no excuse and I’ll take responsibility as manager.

“We are falling at the last hurdle as things stand, and that’s not acceptable after working so hard to give ourselves a platform to stay in this division.

“I have to get better, the group has to get better as well and we have to give our supporters a lift come 3pm on Saturday (at home to Bristol Rovers).”

Carlisle were the better side during a cagey first half.

Joe Nuttall missed a good opportunity to give Cheltenham the lead in the sixth minute, side-footing wide after Liam Sercombe’s pass.

Georgie Kelly saw a shot saved by Luke Southwood at the other end and Luke Armstrong fired wide of the near post.

Jack Armer blasted over the bar for the Cumbrians, but the deadlock was broken three minutes before half-time.

Jack Robinson’s corner was headed back across goal by Ben Barclay and Lavelle touched it in from close range.

Cheltenham sent on four substitutes at half-time and changed formation, resulting in some early pressure on the visitors’ goal.

But goalkeeper Harry Lewis was rarely troubled and Southwood had to fly at full stretch to keep out a looping effort from Jon Mellish in the 77th minute.

Carlisle boss Paul Simpson was pleased with his side’s attitude.

“It was one of those games where we had to roll our sleeves up, put our tin hats on and defend for our lives and that’s what we did,” he said.

“I was really pleased with so many things in what has been a tough time for us.

“It was a good goal and then we had to hang on because Cheltenham are fighting for their lives.

“It’s a good result and makes the journey home more enjoyable. I’m still adamant I want the players to do something now at home for our fans as they’ve been starved of a good 90 minutes. We now have two home games to do that.

“It’s been really painful what we’ve been through this year, but the truth is we just haven’t been good enough.

“I think the players who are still here next year will be better for the experience.”

Leyton Orient found their shooting boots to inflict a 3-1 Sky Bet League One defeat on relegation-haunted Cheltenham.

A dull opening period was lifted in the 34th minute by a superb Ethan Galbraith strike. Collecting a pass from George Moncur, he drilled a 25-yard drive past the despairing dive of goalkeeper Luke Southwood.

The visitors, who showed little going forward before the interval and failed to record a shot on target in the first half, fell further behind 10 minutes later. Ollie O’Neill, always a threat to the Robins, cut inside from the left and delivered a sublime shot that curled into the far corner.

Finding more purpose after the interval, Cheltenham soon squandered a marvellous opportunity to reduce the deficit when O’s stopper Sol Brynn dropped a set-piece at the feet of Curtis Davies, who managed to screw the ball wide from four yards out.

Ruel Sotiriou completed the visitors’ miserable afternoon in the 85th minute when he pounced from 18 yards out to notch his 11th league goal of the season before Joe Nuttall bagged a late consolation for the Robins.

Left-back Greg Leigh headed Oxford’s winner three minutes from time as they sealed a 2-1 victory over Cheltenham to maintain their play-off push.

Cameron Brannagan threatened twice in the first half for Oxford, with Luke Southwood beating out a fierce free-kick and then a drive from the midfielder.

Ruben Rodrigues and Mark Harris also went close before Josh Murphy fired the hosts in front in first-half stoppage time, drilling an angled shot into the far corner from Brannagan’s pass.

Cheltenham created few scoring opportunities, but Oxford goalkeeper Jamie Cuming kept out a low shot from substitute Jordan Thomas midway through the second half.

And Will Ferry equalised with a 20-yard snapshot past Cumming in the 80th minute.

But, just as the Robins must have been thinking they had secured a precious point in their bid to avoid the drop, Owen Dale sent over a deep cross and Leigh powered home a header at the far post.

It earned Oxford only their second win in 11 games.

Relegation rivals Cheltenham and Burton played out an uninspiring 0-0 draw at the Completely-Suzuki Stadium.

Neither goalkeeper was seriously tested throughout and the result keeps Burton five points clear of their opponents and the League One drop zone, while the Robins are four points from safety.

Cheltenham enjoyed most of the possession during the first half, but they could not muster a shot on target.

Burton’s Ademola Ola-Adebomi saw an effort comfortably saved by Luke Southwood in the 13th minute, but defences were very much on top, with several important blocks in both boxes.

Cheltenham felt they should have been awarded a penalty in the 28th minute when George Lloyd went down under a challenge from Steve Seddon, but referee Thomas Parsons waved away their appeals.

Tom Hamer made an excellent challenge on the line to deny home striker Matty Taylor in the 32nd minute before Seddon fired high over the bar before the break.

Ola-Adebomi also saw an effort fly over in the 58th minute before Cheltenham threatened late on when Josh Harrop’s cross was met by Taylor, but it was blocked in the box.

Tom Bradbury cleared off the line from Albion substitute Joe Hugill in stoppage time as both teams had to settle for a point.

Wycombe manager Matt Bloomfield praised his players for not letting their heads drop after being thwarted on a number of occasions before two late goals gave them a 2-0 victory over Cheltenham.

The Chairboys ended February the way they started it by defeating the struggling Robins, but they were frustrated for 86 minutes by a terrific performance by Cheltenham goalkeeper Luke Southwood.

Eventually, goals from Joe Low and Beryly Lubala gave them a first win in four games in League One and condemned the visitors to a first defeat in five, leaving them three points adrift of safety.

Bloomfield said: “I was really pleased with their resilience in terms of the disappointment of the penalty miss, which has happened at times this season, the disappointment of that not going in and then maybe a bit of edginess about the place.

“I felt like Cheltenham’s substitutions gave them a bit of fresh energy and the gaps were getting a little bit too big between our units, so we had to try and bring fresh energy on ourselves.

“So, for our boys to show that resilience, and I’ve said it a couple of times, they’ve had a lot to deal with this year in terms of late knocks, and bits and pieces.

“Slowly but surely, the tide’s turning in our favour and that’s another clean sheet which we’ve got to be really pleased about – I’m really pleased for Franco [Ravizzoli] in goal, I thought he was excellent.”

Southwood tipped Dale Taylor’s volley onto the bar in the first half and after the break kept out a Freddie Potts penalty before making another superb stop from Garath McCleary.

But he was finally beaten when Low blasted in from close range from a McCleary corner before Lubala sealed the points with a stunning strike from distance into the top corner.

Cheltenham boss Darrell Clarke said: “No complaints from me [about the result], we were miles off with our performance.

“I thought all game we were miles off. We were searching for answers on the sideline, we never felt comfortable.

“Wycombe were by miles the better team on the day and we got what we deserved: nothing.

“I don’t want to be too critical of my boys, they’ve been excellent, but tonight we were nowhere near the standards and the level we needed to win a League One game, that’s for sure.

“I don’t want to repeat myself but whenever we’re playing these games in the league, in the division we’re in, I can’t afford to have only two or three players be on the top of their game. I need nine or 10 players and tonight we didn’t have that. We need a reaction.”

Beryly Lubala’s stunning strike sealed a 2-0 victory for Wycombe over struggling Cheltenham that eased fears of them being dragged deeper into the scrap against relegation.

The Chairboys were frustrated for most of the night by a superb performance by Robins goalkeeper Luke Southwood, but they were eventually able to record their first win in four games in League One.

Wycombe dominated the first half, with Kieran Sadlier drawing a good save from Southwood, who later tipped a fizzing volley from Dale Taylor on to the top of the bar.

The 26-year-old continued to frustrate the hosts after half-time when he saved Freddie Potts’ penalty before he got down brilliantly to push Garath McCleary’s low drive wide.

But he was finally beaten with five minutes left when Joe Low was on hand to blast in from close range after McCleary’s corner caused havoc in the six-yard box.

Lubala then sealed the win three minutes later when Luke Leahy rolled the ball into his path and he unleashed a thunderbolt that gave Southwood, for so long unbeatable, no chance.

Cheltenham twice hit back from behind to claim a 3-2 home win over League One relegation rivals Port Vale and spoil Darren Moore’s first game in charge.

Nathan Smith’s header and an own goal from Curtis Davies put Vale ahead, but strikes from Matt Taylor, Jack Shepherd and Will Ferry secured the points for Darrell Clarke’s side against his former club.

Luke Southwood had to save well twice to deny Ethan Chislett as Vale threatened early on and they went ahead when Smith headed in Conor Grant’s corner in the 25th minute.

Lewis Freestone was close to a leveller and Vale goalkeeper Connor Ripley blocked well from George Lloyd.

Taylor levelled after a free-kick routine involving Tom Pett, with the veteran striker stroking in his third goal in four appearances since joining the club.

Liam Kinsella and Taylor went close to giving Cheltenham the lead early in the second half.

Vale claimed the next goal when Southwood parried Chislett’s shot and Davies turned the ball into his own net under pressure from James Wilson in the 65th minute.

But Cheltenham responded quickly with Shepherd lashing in a superb volley four minutes later.

Ferry then won it, jinking past several challenges in the box before applying a neat finish for his first Cheltenham goal in the 73rd minute.