Michael Flynn saluted his Cheltenham side for an “excellent away performance” after they won 2-1 at Colchester.
Jordan Thomas’ first-half brace sealed the Robins’ first away League Two victory of the season, after Lyle Taylor had levelled for the hosts.
Thomas gave Cheltenham a fifth-minute lead when he slid the ball home from two yards after Ethon Archer had curled a cross into the six-yard box.
Colchester equalised in the 27th minute when Taylor clinically fired home after being sent through on goal by Samson Tovide.
But Cheltenham scored what proved to be the winner in the second minute of first-half stoppage time when Colchester conceded possession in midfield and Thomas advanced towards goal, before seeing his deflected shot sail past wrong-footed goalkeeper Matt Macey.
Cheltenham boss Flynn said: “I thought it was an excellent away performance.
“We knew they had quality – I know the players they’ve got and the Cowleys’ experience and they’ve got a big budget as well so we knew they could hurt us if we let them.
“I think (Samson) Tovide going off helped, I’ve got to be honest – he’s an outstanding prospect. He’s 20 years of age, he’s strong, he’s quick, he’s competitive so I was over the moon he went off – I hope he’s OK in terms of his injury.
“We then changed the formation and went to a 3-4-3. We knew where we could expose them and that’s exactly what we had worked on this week.
“I’ve got to give the boys credit because they’ve actually executed what we’re telling them almost to the letter of the law.
“Yes there were a couple of scary moments in the end but that’s where players have come in and haven’t been in for a while.”
Colchester slipped to 20th in the table and head coach Danny Cowley said: “I am disappointed in myself, I’m disappointed in the players and I’m disappointed for the supporters, because they’ve had four years of this kind of level of performance.
“It was well short of what I expect from my teams and it hurts a lot.
“It’s my team and I take complete ownership and responsibility for that in terms of the way that we’re trying to play, the way that we train them, the team selection, all of the things that come with it.
“The focus for two or three weeks had very much been against the ball and drilling the basics of defending.
“We found some rhythm in the second half in the Carlisle game and wanted to try and build on that so we spent a lot of the week focusing on work with the ball but we can’t put both sides of the game together, that’s the truth.”
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