George Lloyd was described as “unplayable” by Cheltenham assistant boss Adam Murray after the striker’s brace helped the Robins move off the bottom of the League One table with a 2-0 home win over Shrewsbury.
Lloyd nodded in the hosts’ opener in the first half before sealing matters with a second goal five minutes from time.
Cheltenham have now picked up five wins from 12 games under boss Darrell Clarke and assistant Murray hailed Lloyd’s impact on his return to the starting XI.
“From what I’ve seen of Lloydy, he is one unbelievable player,” Murray said.
“I know he’s been at the club a long time and probably not got the goals that his work-rate and talent deserves.
“I know in the past, Micky Moore (former director of football, now at Shrewsbury) has worked really hard to keep him at the club and it’s
paid dividends because when he is like that, he truly is unplayable.
“I’d imagine if we cut him open, his heart would be as big as him.”
Lloyd nodded in Liam Sercombe’s free-kick from the right in the 34th minute to put the fast-improving Robins on course in front of their highest home turnout of the campaign.
And Lloyd touched in Tom Bradbury’s downward header from Sean Long’s corner to seal the points five minutes from the end.
Sercombe tested Marko Marosi with a powerful drive in the ninth minute, but chances were at a premium in a cagey first half.
A low shot from Shrews midfielder Carl Winchester was well blocked by Lewis Freestone and Winchester blasted one wide against his old club before Lloyd’s opener.
Taylor Perry fizzed a shot wide early in the second half for the visitors, before Cheltenham nearly doubled their lead in the 63rd minute.
The outstanding Lloyd set up ex-Shrews striker Rob Street, who saw his effort cleared off the line by Jordan Shipley.
Ben Williams had a free-kick touched over the bar by Marosi and another set-piece from the left wing-back crashed against the bar in the 81st minute, before Lloyd had the final say.
Shrewsbury boss Matt Taylor lost two more players to injury at the Completely-Suzuki Stadium, with Perry and Daniel Udoh both hobbling off.
“Everything that can go against us at the moment, is,” Taylor said. “We’ve got to come out swinging.
“I’ve never known a treatment room at any football club to be so full. We’re stretched at the moment.
“While we’re disappointed at the moment though, fast forward three days and we have a chance to put things right (in Friday’s game at Burton).
“It’s a tough day because we didn’t see anything from Cheltenham that we didn’t prepare for. You can’t give the opposition two goals from set-plays, though.
“The way we defended at those two set-plays and to give two free headers is nowhere good enough. We didn’t make the opposition work too hard for those two goals.
“The fans will have left here feeling very frustrated, as I will, because today is nowhere good enough by any stretch of the imagination for this football club.”
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