Cheltenham Town eased to a third win succession and it was as comfortable a victory as any Michael Duff has overseen in 99 matches in charge.
If they can beat Grimsby Town in Tuesday night’s rearranged fixture at the Jonny-Rocks Stadium they will move top of the table on goal difference from the only team that has troubled them so far this term: Morecambe.
Since the 2-1 opening day defeat by the Shrimps, Cheltenham have brushed aside Tranmere Rovers and Leyton Orient on the road without conceding.
It was important for Duff that his team registered a positive result at home to follow up the 2-0 midweek success against Plymouth Argyle in the EFL Trophy.
They did so with the minimum of fuss, benefitting from an own goal for the third League Two game in a row as Ben Tozer’s long throw from the right was directed past goalkeeper Glenn Morris by midfielder Dannie Bulman.
(Image: Alan Franklin Photography)
Tozer has the ability to launch the ball into the six yard box from anywhere in the final third of the pitch.
Cheltenham have done more work on what is undoubtedly a useful weapon and it is starting to show.
There were other chances, with George Lloyd forcing a save, shooting just wide and heading over from a good position, but it was one way traffic again.
The wing-backs were both heavily involved, with Matty Blair delivering his brightest performance in a Cheltenham shirt yet.
His calibre or character was never in any doubt, but after a pre-season injury he has steadily regained full sharpness and is starting to adapt well to the demands of the role on the right.
On the opposite side, Chris Hussey has made an excellent start to his third season with the club.
He has made major contributions in each of the last two campaigns despite missing virtually the whole of both pre-season periods with injury.
Having completed this year’s summer training regime he looks to have taken his performances up yet another notch and there can be few better left-sided players in the division.
While Blair and Hussey asked continual questions of Crawley, Finn Azaz struggled to make an impact in the number 10 role.
He had been nursing an impact injury picked up at Orient the previous weekend and was well shackled by Jake Hessenthaler for the most part.
Azaz, who has been in fine form in recent games, was withdrawn at half-time and replaced by Tom Sang, who made his Football League debut and once again contributed positively.
It took less than three minutes of the second half for Cheltenham to make it 2-0 with Blair setting up his old Doncaster Rovers team mate Andy Williams, who finished expertly for his second of the season.
Duff’s only minor criticism was that his team were not more ruthless in front of goal.
But once they stretched their lead, they continued their habit of defending as a unit, with a clear organisation and structure, making it a particularly quiet afternoon for Josh Griffiths.
He had to make one meaningful save from a shot straight at him in first-half stoppage time, but was otherwise untroubled as the West Brom loanee kept his fifth clean sheet in seven appearances and former loanee Tom Nichols’ threat was snuffed out.
Duff is now preparing to bring up a century of matches as Cheltenham manager and judging by his first 99, he can expect to be on the touchline for several hundreds more.
Cheltenham Town (3-5-2): Griffiths; Raglan, Tozer, Boyle; Blair, Thomas, Sercombe, Azaz (Sang 46), Hussey; Williams, Lloyd (May 77). Subs not used: Harris, Reid, Freestone, Clements, Bonds.
Crawley Town (4-5-1): Morris; Francomb (Davies 81), Tunnicliffe, Craig, Doherty; Nadesan, Bulman, Hessenthaler, Allarakhia (Matthews 54), Frost (Ferguson 80); Nichols. Subs not used: McNerney, Powell, Galach, McGill.
Referee: Trevor Kettle.
Star Man: Matty Blair.
