TWO goals in two first half minutes gave Cheltenham the points in this feisty encounter at Whaddon Road.

Derek Adams’s side trailed 2-0 at the break but a spirited second-half performance saw them almost clinch a dramatic point at the death.

Morecambe started brightly with Cole Stockton fizzing a shot from the edge of the area just over the bar and Jordon Cranston firing an effort inches wide of the left-hand post from 30 yards out as the Shrimps caught the home side on the break.

Cheltenham played some neat football without creating any real threat until they were handed the chance to take the lead when they were awarded a penalty on 32 minutes.

Jordan Cranston fouled former Blackpool man Luke Varney in the box after totally missing his attempted clearance and Conor Thomas made no mistake from 12 yards.

The Shrimps were denied an almost automatic response when Carlos Mendes-Gomes went down in the box but the referee saw no foul and the home side doubled their lead seconds later.

A long clearance was misjudged by Toumani Diagouraga and Alfie May showed great pace to beat Sam Lavelle and shoot low past Mafoumbi.

As the half came to a close Luke Varney headed wise from a good opening and Max Ahead fired wide from a good opportunity.

Derek Adams’s side came out strongly in the second half with Adam Phillips firing over from a tight angle and then putting a dangerous cross that just needed a touch from a Morecambe player.

May had the chance to kill off the game when he hit the post from a good opening before the Shrimps dominated the latter stages.

Sam Lavelle headed a Phillips corner against a post before A-Jay Leitch-Smith scored with a quality goal six minutes from time to set up a frantic finale.

Leitch-Smith his the crossbar with a superb overhead kick and Stockton saw a shot cleared off the line by Ben Tozer but the home side held on for the victory.

Cheltenham: Evans, Long, Tozer, Raglan, Hussey, Thomas (rep Broom 48), Sheaf (rep Ince 66), Doyle-Hayes, Greaves, Varney (rep Nichols 66), May. Subs not used: Lapworth, Boyle, Addai, Debayo.

Morecambe: Mafoumbi, Mbulu, Old, Lavelle, Cranston, Diagouraga (rep Leitch-Smith 64), Wildig Slew (rep Kenyon 55), Wildig, Mendes-Gomes (rep Bradbury 82), Stockton. Subs not used: Halstead, Conlan, Brewitt.

Ref: D Rock.