Not so many thrills and spills as last week, but enough steady performance and a second half goal spree saw the Tigers claim the three points and avenge November's cup defeat against Cheltenham.  Mark Gretton writes.

It was nice to be at Cheltenham again. It's a pleasant place, it's unthreatening, we have an excellent pre-match pub that serves us good ale and better food and we have had some tremendous nights out on the town over the past few years as the sleepy spot turns surprisingly lively as the good Gloucestershire folk lift their skirts, metaphorically and literally. It'll be a shame if we don't get back there for a while.

Actually, it won't. It is a smashing spot, but we've been here often enough now for no reward and it's time to do something else. Yesterday was another efficient performance where we first held a team and then ultimately overpowered it. We seem to be doing quite a bit of this at the moment and, if we really can make a habit of it, then we might be saying a long goodbye to the likes of Cheltenham and Macclesfield and Carlisle, all of whom hold good memories, all of whom we can live without. Doing the necessary in a game that was like Darlington with added pleasure were:

Myhill
Hinds Joseph Delaney Dawson
France Green Ashbee Elliott
Allsopp Burgess

So a chance to see Ryan air his skills in place of the suspended Price but no immediate opportunity to examine the Marshall plan as he took his place on the bench. And it was immediately clear the Cheltenham were not going to make it easy as they set about us straight away. They won an early free kick that our defence watched rather than attacked and were glad to see fly wide. Another cross had our defence back pedalling and was skid-headed for a corner which Myhill spilled, before looking relieved as the referee decided our custodian had been fouled. Again they got forward, again they produced a good cross, again we defended it uncertainly, again we got away with it. The architect of most of the best Cheltenham work was Martin Devaney, playing on the right of midfield but getting forward at every opportunity and producing quality deliveries towards the head of serial tiger-tormentor Damien Spencer, who again looked rough and dangerous.

When we got the ball we passed it well but, apart from a Green freekick that was hit over the bar, we didn't do much to disturb the equanimity of netman Higgs. In between the Cheltenham flurries not a lot happened and we were kept amused by the performances of the Town central defensive pairing of Duff and Duff, who really were. Excitingly respectively initialled S and M, the Duff twins had an appropriately painful half. Actually, they may not have been twins or even brothers, but they were certainly identically awful. Both were big and gormless and headed the ball high and kicked the ball long. Duff (S) combined this at one point by kicking the ball impressively, vertically, stratospherically, high. Duff (M) then trumped this by performing the comedy football standby of waiting for the ball, swinging his right boot and then watching the ball spin out of play off his left shin. Splendid stuff.

We did produce the best moment of the half as Green exchanged passes with Elliott, advanced rapidly and crossed dangerously for Allsopp to head powerfully only for Higgs to grab, gratefully. But as we approached half time, the locals were still getting the better of it. Devaney shot wide and had a header saved by Myhill, who then did even better as Chelter full back Wilson spotted our keeper off his line and belted the ball at him and out of the low sun from just about on the half way line. Myhill scurried back shielding his eyes and tipped it over the bar on the rapid back pedal. Impressive save, but a good idea and the second time that Wilson had tried it. Half time came with Dawson limping heavily after being hit by Spencer and with the 600-strong City support j-u-u-u-st starting to mutter a bit about us having the soggy end of things.

We needn't have worried. The second half brought a less cautious attitude, it also brought on Holt for Dawson and we set about them. Unsurprisingly, as they saw less of the ball they posed less of a threat and they never really re-established the Devaney-Spencer link. We
thought we had the lead as an Elliott cross fell for Allsopp who missed it but wrong footed the defence for Burgess to slap it in. But a combination of Higgs and post kept out both Burgess's shot and his attempted follow up. The game was opening up nicely and a Cheltenham cross was spannered by Delaney but cleared by France. But the force was now with us, Myhill lumped it forward, Higgs hesitated, advanced, then stopped, all giving time for Allsopp to line up a typically crisp finish. 1-0, and we were in control.

5 minutes later and the game was in our grip. Again it began with a Cheltenham attack for which they were rewarded with a free kick, after which Joseph had done that funny forehead-on-forehead rubbing thing to Spencer that you only see done by rutting stags or by professional footballers. It's probably just as well that Taylor has stamped on the drinking culture at the club; if Joseph were to attempt to sort out an altercation in this fashion in, say The Robin or The Rampant Horse he'd be likely to find that his opponent was taking the opportunity of the proximity provided by the head rubbing to crush our defender's goolies to a smooth paste. Fans of Crap Fighting By Men will also be pleased to hear that Joseph and Spencer then allowed themselves to be pulled apart, before redoubling their efforts to get to each other once each had checked that both he and his opponent were securely restrained. Finally we had the free kick which bounced off the wall and we bombed up field with it, although mysteriously Joseph now lay motionless. Before we had time to speculate as to whether it was sudden tiredness perhaps brought on by a late night out at The Robin or The Rampant Horse the previous evening, or the sudden and distressing onset of bird flu, or whether, just possibly, Spencer had exacted a little personal revenge, we were two up. Allsopp had found Holt well, Holt had held on nervelessly until he got support at the end of his run before putting it across for Burgess who flicked it over Higgs but under the bar and into the net. A fine goal on the break, 2-0.

The excitement was not yet over as Myhill, obviously incensed at bodies littering his area, went hunting for Spencer. The referee consulted his linesman and then, as our goal celebrations were just ending, re-ignited them by sending off Spencer. As if to confirm that this was game over, Chelt's re-organisation included removing Devaney and bringing on ex Baggies and Bolton striker Bob Taylor, aged 103. They didn't exactly wave a white flag from the dugout, but then they didn't need to.

We strolled the last 25 minutes, Elliott ran at them at will, Marshall came on at right back and produced a very acceptable cameo of reading the game and passing it to team mates in the way that our right backs seldom have, even including giants of the game such as the Simons Dakin and Trevitt, in whose two left footed steps he strode. We didn't scored more but we might have, most notably when a the ball was whipped over in the air, France knocked it back with his nut and Burgess hit a beautiful aerial volley that was well saved, which was a pity.

But we'd done more than enough. And if we keep doing this, we'll do fine. It's not sorted yet, indeed, after a weekend with a couple of very favourable results (Thank you Imps, thank you again, Gary Alexander) it now looks like any three from four for automatic promotion, although I may be doing a disservice to Huddersfield coming up fast on the rails. But we ARE top of the league, even though they've all got more games left. But just to show that Mike Scott is not the only one who can do a dodgy but sometimes apposite football cliché, points in the bag are more valuable than games in hand; and we've got the former and can watch them scrabble in the latter. It's still looking good.

HULL CITY (4-4-2): Myhill; Hinds, Joseph, Delaney, Dawson; France, Ashbee, Green, Elliott; Burgess, Allsopp.  Subs: Holt (for Dawson, 45), Marshall (for Allsopp, 76), Forrester, Musselwhite, Melton.

Goals: Allsopp 58; Burgess 60

Booked: Allsopp

Sent Off: None

CHELTENHAM TOWN: Higgs, Wilson, M Duff, S Duff, Victory, Devaney, Henry, Bird, Finnegan, McCann, Spencer.  Subs: Taylor (for Bird, 62), Brough (for Devaney, 68), Hynes (for Taylor, 69), Book, Forsyth.

Goals: None

Booked: None

Sent Off: Spencer

REFEREE: C Penton

ATTENDANCE: 4,536